Fairy tales from the book of dreams
by Yizuki
Summary: This is a collection of oneshots, stories that I have left incomplete, stories that I have based off of movies, and much, much more. So pull up a chair and enjoy! Ps: Most of this will be puzzleshipping. And it won't be updated very often. Just a warning.
1. Stag of the White Forest

Chapter 1: Stag of the White Forest

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This chapter is based off of the movie barbie of swan lake. I know that all of those movies are cheesy, but I figured it would work.

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In the kingdom of Avalon, down king's road that leads to the palace, there lived a young boy and his grandfather. They ran a small toy store that sold everything from straw and potato dolls, to the finest board games. A crowd of children stood at the window, staring as Yugi put the latest game in the window.

Duel Monsters.

The children cooed as they looked at the wooden cards displayed. They were ferocious and positioned so that they looked like they were looking straight at you. Yugi waved at the children and went to the counter of the store. He sat down, looking at the unfinished game he was playing with himself. He moved a piece and tilted his head cutely. His grandfather, Solomon, watched him proudly. Yugi was small and petite, with gentle curves that deceived his true gender. His hair was colored three different colors, obsidian black with ruby edging and golden bangs. His wide amethyst eyes were closed in concentration as he thought of the pieces in his mind. Solomon gently cleared his throat. Yugi stumbled, knocking over the pieces.

"Grandpa!" He whined. Solomon chuckled.

"Sorry Yugi. Couldn't resist." Yugi sighed and bent down and picked up the chess pieces. "Why don't you go to the village competitions? You're really good." Yugi shook his head.

"And have people stare at me? Thanks, but I get enough of that already."He said, running a hand through his hair. Solomon shook his head.

"You need to have more faith in yourself Yugi." There was a tinkling at the back door. "I'll get it." Yugi shook his head at his grandfather, rearranging the games so that they were all easy to see and reach. A high whinny caught his attention. He went outside in time to see a bay stallion leap over the town fence. Yugi backed up as it galloped up to their shop.

"Any faster and you're going to fly!" Yugi admonished. Malik grinned.

"That's my point!" Yugi sighed. "It's really fun Yugi! You should come along." Yugi grimaced.

"Thanks but…"

"No thanks." Malik sighed. "Your loss mate." he turned his horse around. "I'll bring you a souvenier!" He galloped off again. A blue bird flew off and turned in the air, circling the town square before it went upstream toward the palace. It sat on a bale of hay, only to fly away as an arrow buried itself in the straw. A man who looked like Yugi smirked at his companion. Bakura smirked.

"All right. But can you make it four for four?" His voice was husky with a faint trace of French. His hair was pure white and spiked so that it looked untamed. Bakura was dressed in a storm grey shirt and charcoal black pants. His boots were also a dull black, though that was because they were made that way. The Yugi look a-like chuckled, crimson eyes sparkling with mirth. He was dressed in dark navy blue pants and a black silk shirt. His jacket matched his pants and hugged his form. His black boots shone in the sunlight as he adjusted his stance.

"Tell you what. What if I hit that old coot's hat over there?" The old man he pointed to was slowly making his way along the garden path on the other side of the courtyard. Bakura laughed.

"That guy?! All the way over there?!" He kept laughing. "That's impossible! I'll win this time for sure Yami!" Yami barked a laugh himself.

"Impossible is my favorite word!" He drew back the arrow and set his sights. With a twang, the arrow sailed through statues and over bushes to go straight through the man's hat and bury itself in a sack. Yami smirked at Bakura who scowled and pulled out a pouch.

"Bloody Prince. You've been practicing." He handed him six gold coins. Yami just smirked at him. Mahaado, Yami's counselor, walked into the garden. At that moment the arrow freed itself from the sack and spilled flour all over him. Bakura laughed while Yami cringed. He ran over to Mahaado and helped him dust off.

"I'm sorry Mahaado." His counselor picked up the arrow and raised an eyebrow at it.

"Target practice again?" He commented wryly. Yami blushed and rubbed the back of his head. Mahaado shook his head. "Here. Your mother wanted me to give these to you." Yami took a stack of letters from his hands.

"What are they?" He asked.

"Responses of which princesses are coming to the royal ball." Yami sighed, sitting down on the floor in exasperation and depression.

"When is mother going to realize that I'm not interested in settling down? I want to have adventures, see foreign lands!" Mahaado knelt down and patted his arm.

"You will….after you give her grandchildren." Yami sighed again.

"It's not like I have much choice." Mahaado slapped him on the back.

"That's the spirit! Now come on, I here that the village party is going to be quite lively."

Yugi hummed a ballroom tune as he set out a set of duel monster cards, sorting them by name. He smiled fondly at one before setting it down. The same blue bird who had been at the palace sat on the window sill and began twirling around, trying to get his attention. It spun very fast and tumbled into a bowl of white chalk. Yugi giggled and picked it up. The bird twittered and cooed as Yugi stroked it. The bird ruffled his feathers to get rid of the chalk. Yugi laughed and put his hands up as the chalk scattered all over him. He went over to the door and held out his hands. The bird checked its wings, then flew away. Yugi smiled as he watched it fly through the sky. He looked down the street when he heard a commotion. His eyes went wide when a unicorn dashed down the street.

"I don't believe it!" The unicorn was pure white with a pearl horn and soft brown eyes. People were chasing after it, trying to keep it still. A man with a whip stepped in front of it and cracked it. The unicorn reared on its hind legs, melting brown eyes rolling in fright. It ran up a set of stairs. A man ran up and aimed an arrow at its flank. Yugi gasped. "No! You'll hurt it!" The man let the arrow loose. At the last moment the unicorn leapt out of the way. The sound of hooves cantering on the cobblestones faded as the unicorn got farther away. Yugi followed and watched it get caught by a rope. Yugi started forward, getting ready to help it get free. He sighed when it managed to cut the rope on an axe. He saw it was heading out of the city. Yugi bit his lip in worry. The rope had caught on a fallen branch. He went forward to untangle it, but the unicorn got free itself. It cantered into the woods, Yugi running to keep up with it. The rope got caught again. Yugi stayed back, wanting to help, but not wanting to be seen. After a few tugs, the unicorn was free and continuing on its way. Yugi trailed behind, watching as it stepped over stones in a stream. After slight hesitation, he followed. Yugi gasped at what he saw next. Two huge waterfalls spilled down a chasm, a fallen tree the only way across. The unicorn started over the makeshift bridge, slipping about halfway there. Yugi gasped, stepping toward the bridge in worry. The unicorn righted itself and kept moving forward. It promptly slipped again, this time ending up laying flat on the tree trunk. Yugi cautiously put one foot on the bridge. The unicorn tried to get up, only to slip back down.

"Hold on!" He ran across the bridge toward the unicorn. The animal itself looked at him and snorted. It got up and began walking toward the other side. Yugi stopped and realized where he was. He gulped and walked forward much more slowly. The unicorn stopped at the rock wall and touched a large stone with its horn. The boulder rumbled and moved aside. Yugi stopped and stared in wonder. The unicorn went through. Yugi shook himself out of his reverie and followed, barely making it through before the boulder went back into place. Yugi looked around to find himself in a tunnel with light on the other side. He stepped forward and felt his jaw drop. He was in a beautiful forest, full of sunshine. A huge lake with gentle, curtain like waterfalls sat in the center. Birds flew around in flocks of lazy circles. Tall trees with pure white bark and leaves of gold and green towered above, giving the lighting a beautiful undertone. It was the most amazing place he had ever seen. A high whinny alerted him to the reason he was here. He ran to where he heard the sound to see that the rope had gotten much more tangled than the other times. Yugi came forward slowly, holding up his hands.

"Don't worry. Just hold still." The unicorn snorted.

"Easy for you to say." It muttered. Yugi gasped. "You're not the one getting strangled." Yugi stared at the unicorn with wide eyes.

"You….talk?" The unicorn sighed.

"Of course." Yugi kept staring at it. The unicorn tossed its head. "Are you going to stand there, or cut me loose?" Yugi blinked. The unicorn sighed. "Never mind, I'll do it myself." He pulled at the rope, only to have the rope tighten. "Ouch!" Yugi reached out for it a bit.

"Wait! I'll find something to cut it with."

"Sure." The unicorn said, voice strained from nearly strangling itself. "You do that." Yugi walked away to see if he could find a sharp stone. His eyes widened when he realized that he was in what looked like a village square. The tall trees were hollowed out at the base, making doorways and windows to the outside world. Shining amber covered the windows like golden panes of glass. In the center was what looked like a fountain. It was made from the same white wood that everything else was, with red and gold amber embedded in the wood. He caught a flash at the very top. Several forest animals came out from behind trees to look on in awe at Yugi.

"D'ya see dat? It's a human. A human!" A golden dog said, chest puffing up at recognizing one. Yugi walked over to look at the flash. It was a bright golden box, hidden in the very top bowl of the non-working fountain. Yugi stretched out on his toes to pick it up.

"Oh no! Somebody stop him!" A small squirrel chittered, running around in circles, ending up hiding behind its tail. An old man put up his hand.

"Quiet Chris. Just watch." Yugi set his fingers around the box and gently pulled it out. The other animals gasped. The man smiled. Yugi walked over to the unicorn, who was still trying to pull itself free. He went down the rope so that he could cut it. The unicorn gasped.

"Where did you get that?" It asked in wonder.

"That fountain in the middle of the square." Yugi said, pointing behind him.

"You mean you just took it out?" It asked, disbelieving.

"I-I'm sorry. I'll put it right back." He opened the lid and gasped, inside were geometric shapes, all made out of solid gold. He took one out and used it to cut the rope. "There. I thought that would do it." The old man walked over to him. The unicorn looked over at him.

"Did you see that Iron heart? Did you?" It asked in excitement. "He used the puzzle!" Yugi bowed.

"I'm terribly sorry." Iron heart laughed.

"It's quite all right. We've been waiting for you for quite a long time."

"Me?" Yugi asked.

"But first, let me thank you for helping Ryou. And you." He said, turning to the unicorn. "You know better than to go into the human world." Ryou hung his head in shame. "A creature from the enchanted forest can be…."

"We know, we know. Killed by a human." Yugi turned and gasped. A large gold and brown colored griffon stood behind them. "It's all over." It choked on fake tears."We're done for!" It choked on more tears. "Good bye world! Good bye!" He fell to the ground, playing dead. Iron heart rolled his eyes, smiling good naturedly.

"What am I going to do with you Marik?" He said.

"Aw c'mon Iron heart! He was just trying to find something to beat old dragon head." Marik said with a wide grin. He raised an eyebrow.

"So I guess it was your idea then." Marik jumped and hung his head, ashamed at being found out. Iron heart shook his head. "So, what's your name?" He said, turning back to Yugi.

"Yugi sir."

"Yugi, do you know what you hold in your hands?" Yugi looked down at the puzzle in the box.

"Not really." Marik sighed. "I'm sorry. I was going to return it."

"Don't worry. The millennium puzzle belongs to you now." Yugi looked at him, obviously saying 'what?'.

"Ah! How is he going to save us?!" Marik dropped onto the ground in a pout. Yugi watched them warily.

"…I think you have me confused with somebody else." Iron heart sighed.

"Years ago my cousin Dartz and I lived together in a kingdom not far from here. When my uncle, the king, died, Dartz took over the throne. For a few years everything was fine, but then he showed his true colors. He began ruling the king like a tyrant and searching for the ultimate power. He found it in a stone known as the Orichalcos. With this at his disposal, he began rapidly rising to power, calling forth a great beast known as the leviathan to keep everyone scared of his rule. In desperation, I took those who were not too afraid and fled the country into this forest, where a prophecy had been made." Iron heart looked down at him. "It was said that when a great evil arose and threatened our kingdom, there would appear a tool to vanquish it forever. It was known as the millennium puzzle, a highly magical talisman that is said to grant unlimited power to anyone who solves it. The puzzle only shows up in times of great need, and can only be accessed by those destined to wield it. Word had reached me that the puzzle had appeared in this small town." He gestured around him. "Unfortunately, Dartz heard this too, and persued me. We tried to make a stand here but…it didn't work. We were defeated and Dartz tried to take the puzzle, tried being the operative word. The puzzle shot him back and killed the entire army he brought. It then made us immune to any spell with harmful intentions to us. In his anger, Dartz turned to us and said. 'You may have thwarted me this time cousin, but when you next see me, the puzzle will be mine!' A few years later, he began invading again, taking over parts of the forest and capturing its inhabitants, turning them into animals and forcing them to work for him. Even I myself have been cursed with the body of an old man." He sighed.

"But now that you're here…" Marik said. Yugi just looked at them.

"But I don't understand. What can I do? And if the puzzle protected you from curses, how did you end up like that?" He said.

"The puzzle just protects us against spells that will physically harm us, not asthetic changes. But it has been foretold, that whomever frees the millennium puzzle shall overcome Dartz and save our home and all of mankind. But nobody has been able to free it, Yugi. Until today." A golden dog rushed up.

"It's you, You! Oh! Give me a hug!"

"Joey!" The dog leaped up and tackled him to the ground, nuzzling him. Yugi gasped for breath.

"Joey! He can't breathe!" Ryou called. Joey got up hastily.

"Eh. Sorry Yug'." The griffon stepped forward and circled him.

"Well….he doesn't look like much. But…..maybe." Yugi turned to him in shock.

"What?! Wait! I think you have the wrong person! I haven't overcome anyone…..I wish I could help….but…"

"Hmph. I knew it." Marik huffed.

"Marik please. We can't force him. The dangers are enormous." Yugi looked down.

"I'm really sorry, but I have to get back. My Grandfather will be worried sick." Iron heart nodded.

"I understand Yugi. Marik will show the way." Marik looked at him in anger.

"I'm sorry….good bye." Chris sighed.

"It's over. Over! Done! Finished!" She ran in circles. Marik strutted up to Iron heart, looking straight into his eyes.

"You really think he has something special with him don't you?" He sighed. "All right. I'll see what I can do." Two ravens, who were perched on a branch, looked at each other before flying off.

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Marik flew ahead of Yugi and landed on a large flat rock. He looked back at Yugi and grinned.

"You know if I had the millennium puzzle, I'd nail Dratz! Hyah! On guard dragon head!" He reared and swiped at an unknown enemy with his claws. "Epe!" He swiped his claws. "Coupe!" He reared again. "Cool way!" He leaped. There was a crash and the sound of rustling. Marik looked sheepishly back at Yugi. "Oopse?" Yugi giggled. Marik pulled his claws out of the branch he had gotten them stuck in. He grinned at Yugi. "Just, uh…..keeping my claws sharp." Yugi sighed.

"It's just….I'm not brave like you." Marik smirked.

"That's true. Nobody's braver than me!" He puffed his chest out in pride. "But maybe I could help you!" He said cheerfully. A loud roar made them look up. Two large dragons were descending down to where they were. Marik backed up with a look of utter terror on his face. Both of them landed heavily on the ground. One looked a lot like an oriental dragon, sleek and refined. But its scales were a dirty brown with a bracken-like mane and icy ocean blue eyes. The second was about twice the size of the oriental and looked more like a serpent with long grey hair that fanned out on either side. Cold, golden eyes pierced through his own, making him shudder in fright. Yugi watched as the larger of transformed into a handsome man with teal green hair and two color eyes. The other dragon let out a strange noise similar to a bird's cackle. "That's Dartz, that form he took is a smaller version of the great leviathan." Yugi shuddered. The dragon had been bigger than a house. If that was a small version, how big was the real one? Dartz turned to oriental and waved his hand lazily. The dragon transformed into a pretty girl with chin length brown hair and icy ocean blue eyes. Dartz laughed coldly.

"Look at this Anzu! This truly is pathetic." Anzu laughed, sounding a lot like the cackle she had let out before, then turned serious very suddenly.

"Pathetic." She sneered.

"A little bird had told me that a human had come into the forest and freed the millennium puzzle. You couldn't possibly be him." Marik stepped forward.

"Mane a bit ruffled Dartz?" Marik asked. He backed up in mock terror.

"Oh my days are numbered! I'm shaking in my boots!" Marik snorted. Anzu laughed coldly.

"Go ahead and laugh all you want! But Yugi and I will throw you right out of the forest!"

"Marik!" Yugi said.

"Oh yeah! Yugi is going to have you two for breakfast! Cause you two, are toast!" Dartz chuckled

"And here I thought Griffons were….reserved." His eyes glowed red for a moment. Marik backed up, lowering his head. Dartz smirked at them. He turned to Anzu. "Anzu my darling. How would you like a new pelt for your room?" Anzu cackled in her bird like laugh.

"Anytime!" Dartz smirked again. He put his hand down. A sickly green energy shot up from the ground. It went up his arm and gathered around a pendant on his neck. Dartz took the pendant and pointed it at Yugi. The energy shot out and swirled around him. He put his hands up in an attempt to stop the magic. Yugi cried out as he felt the magic surround him and change his shape. When he opened his eyes again he was a snow white deer with slim, silvery antlers. He reared up as he realized what he was. Tears sprang to his eyes as he fell over when he lost balance. The puzzle clattered to the ground in front of him.

"Ah ha, ha, ha! Look at the great hero of the forest now!" He grabbed hairs from his tail and yanked them out.

"Ow!"

"Hey! Lay off!" Marik ran at him and butted him to the ground. He then promptly turned around and started running away, scooping the box of the millennium puzzle into his mouth.

"GO! Run! Run Yugi! Run!" He shouted around the box. Yugi galloped off into the forest.

"Over here Yugi." He turned around a boulder and cantered through a shallow place in the water. He stopped at the edge. Iron heart looked at his form and sighed. "Oh Yugi. Here. This will help protect you." He put a silver collar on his neck that cradled the millennium puzzle in the center.

"Well, well, well. Look who it is, my dear cousin."

"He can't do anything more to you Yugi. Not as long as you're wearing that necklace."

"Do you honestly think you can get in the way of my destiny?" He asked incredously. "This is my forest. Mine! Just as the kingdom was mine, and the power. So why don't you save us all a lot of trouble, and surrender?"

"And let you destroy the rest of the world? Never!"

"Then enjoy the show." Dartz turned around. "This boy's days are at an end!" The sickly green light gathered around him again. He shot it at Yugi, only to have a golden shield encase him. Dartz narrowed his eyes and put more power into the attack. The shield brightened, then shattered into a million pieces, encompassing the energy that Dartz had taken and spreading it around the forest.

"Ah…." All the enchanted animals gasped at the light display. Dartz gritted his teeth.

"Go Dartz, you can do nothing here." Iron heart told him forcefully.

"So you think!" He sneered. "Hmph! Come Anzu, we're finished here."

"But what about my pelt?" She whined. Dartz sighed and just flew away. Marik flew in at top speed.

"Did you see that?! 'Come Anzu.' Hah ha! You got him Yugi! You got him good!" Yugi stepped out of the water delicately.

"I think it's more that he got me." He looked down at his cloven hooves and sighed. Marik pouted.

"Well….he did score a few points."

"What am I going to do? I can't return to my Grandpa like this! And what about Malik? They both must be worried sick."

'_Malik?'_ Marik thought. _'This little human sounds interesting. Maybe I should go and visit him.'_

"Can you turn me back?" Yugi asked. Iron heart sighed.

"I wish I could. Over time a few of the refugees who fleed with me have escaped…."

"It was very close!" Chris squealed. "But we made it!" She began running around. Joey chuckled and put out a paw.

"Slow down Chris. You're gonna make everyone dizzy."

"My powers weren't enough to get rid of the spell, but I was able to turn them back into themselves from sunset until dawn."

"And now…?" Iron heart gripped his staff. "Please try. I don't want to be a stag for the rest of my life." Iron heart sighed and put his staff between Yugi's antlers. A golden glow encompassed him before fading out of existence. The sun went lower and lower on the horizon until it vanished. All the other animals changed back. Joey turned into a lanky teenager with a mop of golden hair and liquid amber eyes with a pair of dog ears in place of human ears, and a long tail. Chris the squirrel became a young girl dressed in western style clothes with squirrel ears and a fluffy tail that curled over her head. Ryou became an albino with doe brown eyes. Marik transformed into a man who looked a lot like Malik with wings and claws. Ryou looked to Yugi, who was still a stag. Yugi looked at himself and sighed.

"C'mon. Work." Ryou whispered. His face lit up as the magic began working and he turned back into a human. Yugi looked at himself. He was now dressed in pure white clothing the same color as his hide as a stag. Yugi looked at Iron heart with gratefulness in his eyes. The box now hung precariously against his chest tangled in a thin silver chain.

"Thank you. Thank you so much!"

"You realize that when the sun rises…"

"I'll turn into a stag again." Yugi finished. "I can't go home like this. I have to find a way to defeat Dartz." Ryou smiled.

"That's the spirit!" Joey yelped for joy.

"We're saved! We're saved!" He leaped over to Ryou and hugged him.

"Joey! Air!" He got off.

"Sorry bud."Yugi contemplated the pieces in front of him.

"Well. I guess it's to work." He knelt down and began trying to fit the pieces together. Iron heart smiled and turned to the other animals.

"All right, let's go. He needs to think. Marik, stay with him and keep watch." Marik stepped up proudly.

"Sure thing!" He plopped down next to Yugi and curled around him, keeping an eye out for danger. Yugi just continued working on the puzzle, already lost in his own thought.

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Yami was studying a scroll and checking the letters when he heard a thud and a curse.

'_Must be Bakura.'_ He said, getting up and going outside to the hall.

"What happened?" He gasped. "My package! It's here!" He ran over and tried to pick it up, frowning when he couldn't get it off the ground. He looked over to Bakura. "Can you help me?" Bakura shrugged. Together they picked it up and put it in the library. He excitedly removed the lid. The walls fell away to reveal a square globe. Yami chuckled good naturedly. "Well they didn't get that right." Bakura scoffed.

"Well if it isn't right, then I'll get rid of it." Yami shook his head.

"No, no. It's fine." He looked at the land. "Just look at it Bakura. So much unexplored territory."

"Yep! Good thing you have to stay here!" He slapped Yami on the back. Yami sighed.

"I know. That's why I'm unhappy." He walked to the window. "But somehow, I feel like there's an adventure, just around the corner." He stared out into the kingdom with distant eyes. Bakura rolled his eyes and left.

Yugi yawned. "Yugi. You've been doing that for the past hour. Don't you think you need to get some sleep?" Yugi shook his head.

"No. I'm almost done…Just need to put in…!" He yawned again.

"See?! That's the fifth time this evening! At the very least you should move indoors." Yugi looked up.

"We can go inside?" Marik snorted.

"Of course! What did you think, we laid outside on the grass like common animals?" Yugi blushed and ducked his head. That's exactly what he had thought.

"O for crying out loud. Come on human. We're going to the troll's house." He got up to his feet and started walking off. Yugi squeaked and picked up the pieces of the puzzle, putting them in the box, before scrambling after Marik.

"So um….How scary are trolls here?" Yugi asked. Marik smirked, thinking of an evil plan.

"Ha! Scary doesn't even cover it! Trolls have beady eyes, hulking bodies! Oh!" Here he gained a wicked gleam in his eye. "And they eat _human_ flesh!"

"WHAT?!" Yugi squealed, more than a little scared. Marik laughed.

"I'm kidding. It's just a rumor." They approached a large set of doors lit by firefly lamps. "Well! Here we are! You ready?" Yugi nodded and stood stiffly by Marik. The griffon tapped his beak on the doors three times. They flashed golden and opened invitingly. Marik strutted confidently through the doors. He looked back when he saw Yugi wasn't following him. "C'mon Yugi! You're braver than you think!"

"So you say." He murmured, walking forward.

In the village, all the stores and houses were closed. Only the game shop was still lit. Inside, Solomon sat by the fire. The bell on the door jingled as Malik entered. Solomon looked up.

"Did you find him?" Malik shook his head.

"I looked everywhere, even the forest. There was no sign of him." Solomon sighed. "Come I'll help you." Malik was about to protest, but closed his mouth, knowing how stubborn the man could get, and just nodded.

Yugi walked down the halls after Marik, looking back and forth for any danger. They came to a pedestal.

"Who goes there?!" A voice called. Yugi looked up to see a huge shadow on the wall.

"It's Marik! And my friend Yugi."

"I don't know you, and you really don't want to know me!" Marik rolled his eyes.

"No kidding." He cleared his throat. "It's just….We've come for a place to stay for the night."

"For the night?! " He shouted, pounding his hands. Marik winced.

"Yes! Iron heart sent us!" Yugi gulped. Yugi watched as the shadow came down the stairs, getting smaller and smaller until it was the size of a tall human. A handsome young man with pointed ears and his brown hair shaped into a point on his head appeared. Marik raised an eyebrow at him. The man stalked forward and inspected them closely. Yugi backed up a bit hesitantly. All of a sudden he laughed.

"Finally! Guests! I can't believe this!" He shook each of their hands. "My name is Honda, but of course you already know that. OH! Is there anything I can get you? Tea? Cakes? Muffins?" He held out a plate of moldy biscuits. "I made them myself!" He bustled off. Marik spit out the one that he had eaten.

"When?!" Honda bustled about. Yugi politely put the one he had taken to the floor.

"So how's the forest been? What about Rafael the strong?"

"He retired." Marik said, scraping his tongue to get rid of the taste. Honda looked a bit disappointed.

"Oh. Well he did talk about nothing else. How about Rebecca the Mage?"

"Old Faeries home." Marik replied again.

"Allister the mighty?"

"He died."

"Valon the brave?"

"Bought a fast horse and is exploring the forest." Honda sat down.

"Everone's gone." He sighed. "You know what that means? I'm old!" He sat by the forest. "Nobody needs me." Marik and Yugi looked at each other.

"Well….we need you." Yugi said. "I'm working on this puzzle, and need a place to stay for the night. Will you let us be here?" Honda wasn't listening. He was looking at Yugi neck, where the box was still held precariously.

"Oh my….You're the one!" Yugi smiled sheepishly.

"Yeah…So…may we stay?" Honda looked at them in disbelief.

"May you….Of course! I'll get rooms ready right away!" He dashed off to a stack of books. "Not to worry! My hospitality is state of the art!" Marik looked around at the mess of books.

"Obviously." He commented. Yugi nudged him in the ribs. Marik ruffled his wings and sighed.

"How about we help?" Yugi said. Honda beamed.

"Be my guest!" They sorted through the books, Honda throwing them off in random directions. Marik was inspecting a bucket of wands. He touched one, only to have it zap him. Yugi looked toward him and laughed.

"If I get zapped by another defective wand I'll rip this whole place apart!" Yugi laughed again.

"I don't know. I like it." Marik's hair had been reshaped so that it looked a lot like an afro. A crash made them look toward Honda, who had lost his balance and fallen and been buried by books. He stuck out a hand.

"I'm okay. I'm okay." He sighed. "Okay, up those stairs are the rooms. When you're ready, just head up. I'll be getting them ready." Yugi walked over to him.

"Thank you Honda." He sat in front of the fireplace and began working on the puzzle again, humming a light tune. Honda came up to stand beside Marik, who's hair had gone back to its original state.

"So, he's the one?" Marik nodded.

"Yep. Doesn't look like much does he?" Honda smiled, showing pointed teeth.

"I wouldn't say that. He may not be physically strong, but strength can come from other places." Marik looked at him funnily. Honda just chuckled and looked back to Yugi who was still working on the puzzle.

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"Yugi, go to sleep!"

"I just have to put these pieces together! Then I'll have a basis to work on! And it can't be as bad as you make it out to be Marik. I haven't been working that long." Marik snorted.

"You kidding? You've been working on it all night!" Yugi gasped.

"All night?" He looked out the window. The sun rose over the horizon. The golden glow of Iron hearts magic enveloped him, and when it faded he was a pure white stag. Yugi stepped to a mirror and looked at his reflection. He sighed, closing his amethyst eyes in despair, then opening them again. "I don't care! I'll finish it even if it takes me all day!" He went back through the shelves. "Honda, I'm going to need your help." Marik changed into a griffon and looked to Honda. Both shrugged and followed after the stag.

-

--

-

Deep in the forest, a serpentine dragon flew to a mansion that looked abandoned, but magnificent in its own way. Dark grey trees loomed overhead, branches bare. A sickly green mist clung to the earth, keeping life from the soil. This was Dartz's palace. Inside, Anzu was lounging on a couch, looking at her jewelry. She sighed, tossing priceless gems aside.

"Boring." She said. She picked up what looked like no more than a rock. "Dull." She picked up another inspecting it before throwing it again. "Ugly." She threw up her hands in anger.

"Ugh! I have nothing to wear! It's humiliating!" She looked to her father who had just flown in, and was now pacing the floor. "Hmmm….I know that look." She said seductively. "You're thinking dad."

"I'm going to get that puzzle even if I have to rip it off that infuriating stag myself!" Anzu squealed.

"A puzzle! Could I have it daddy? Please? Daddy please!" Dartz sighed.

"Yes my child. You may have it, as soon as I can get it." Anzu pouted.

"But I want it now Daddy!" She whined. "I'm like the most out of fashion princess in the forest!" She crossed her arms and pouted. "Why can't you just destroy him daddy? Any old human could do it." She had meant it as an insult, but Dartz stopped pacing and smirked.

"Of course. Even though the crystal protects him, now that he's a creature of the forest he can be killed by a human!" He smiled winningly at Anzu. "My little angel! You're so clever!" Anzu cooed.

"Of course daddy!" She said, batting her eyelashes.

-

--

-

"Prince Yami, could you remind me why you are going hunting alone? You know that a boar will gore you before you can kill it." Yami sighed as he saddled up his horse. Today he was wearing black leather and a black cape that flowed around his shoulders and shone like molten glass. His shiny black boots clacked as he paced to the other side of his horse to put the saddle on.

"That's why I'm not going Boar hunting. I'm not going hunting at all. I just thought I would bring my bow in case I spotted something." Mahaado raised an eyebrow.

"And please tell me why at least I should not accompany you?" He asked. Yami sighed.

"Because you're the one I want to get away from." Yami mumbled.

"What was that?"

"Oh nothing." He said easily. "Look, I won't even get far enough away from the city that you can't hear my horn. Does that make you feel better?" Mahaado sighed.

"No. But there's no talking you out of this." Yami beamed.

"Thank you my friend." Mahaado snorted.

"Just be careful. And don't get into any trouble!" Yami just waved at him until he was out of sight. Mahaado sighed. "What will I do with him?" He smiled sadly. "Now, to make sure the queen doesn't know about this." He walked off to go distract her.

-

--

-

Yami galloped through the forest, savoring the wind whipping past his face and the feeling of soaring as they leaped over logs and streams. He urged his horse faster and faster, relishing the feeling of speed. He slowed down when he saw a giant dragon swoop through the trees. Curious, Yami redirected his horse in its direction and started galloping again. The serpent-like creature led him to a waterfall that had a huge tree acting as a bridge to get to the other side. Warily, he dismounted his horse and walked across, keeping his eyes on the tunneled entrance that was just behind the curtain of water. He ran through, stopping when he saw the magnificence of the place he had stumbled upon.

"Wow." He whispered. _'How could nobody have ever found this place? It's beautiful.'_ He looked as he saw the dragon that he had followed circling downwards into the trees. Eager to see where it was going, he ran after it._ 'I wonder what it's doing here.'_

_-_

_--_

_-_

Yugi was laying on the bank of the lake, his head tucked beside him. Ryou approached cautiously.

"How's he doing?" He whispered. Marik snorted.

"We tried all night and all day to solve that thing, and nothing, how do you think?"

"Shh! You're going to wake him up." Chris admonished. Dartz looked down and spotted Yugi. He looked behind him and smirked as he saw the young man he had found running close behind. Circling them once he dove down, frightening all of Iron heart's subjects. Yugi woke up with a start and gasped when he saw Dartz. He scrambled to his feet and galloped as fast as he could away from the evil man. Dartz laughed and chased after him, making him turn toward the human. Yami saw the stag running toward him and stopped, excitedly notching an arrow.

"What a prize!" He whispered, taking in the height of the horns and overall size. Above, Dartz smirked.

"C'mon human, take the shot!" A ray of sunlight fell on Yugi, lighting up his coat. Yami lowered his bow.

"It's so….beautiful." He gazed at the slim build and silvery antlers that curved gracefully over its head. He looked down to his bow, and back at the stag. Dartz started to lose confidence.

"What is he doing? No. No!" After a moment of hesitation, Yami lowered his bow fully, breaking the arrow in half. He turned his eyes away from the beautiful creature, ashamed of what he had almost done. Yugi looked around the surrounding forest. Not seeing Dartz, he sighed and stopped. He looked to the mountains and reared onto his hind legs, the sun slipped below the horizon, turning him back into a human. He checked the skies again, trying to make sure that Dartz was gone. Yami stared in wonder at the sight he had just seen. A gorgeous stag, had just turned into a boy of unearthly beauty. And he had been about to…..He dropped his bow to the ground. Dartz growled.

"Humans! Such fools!"

-

--

-

Anzu paced in front of a part of the lake, preening her self-image.

"Now let's see….maybe pearls." She said, drawing her finger around her neck. "Ugh! No! Much too yesterday! Hmm….But Rubies and Diamonds! Yes! It's just so Fire and Ice!" He giggled as she thought of it. Joey and Chris watched in disgust.

"Disgusting." Chris said.

"Yeah….So what should we do about her?" Chris smirked.

"I've got an idea. We just need….a few friends."

-

--

-

Dartz glared angrily as he watched the young man he had lured here step into the clearing, heading for the boy whom he had cursed. He sighed. _'Oh well, I guess the only way to do things, is to do them yourself.' _He landed on the ground and turned back into a man.

"Well, well, well. Look at what we have here. I see that old Iron heart still has some power after all." Yugi jumped and backed away. Yami stepped forward to protect him. Dartz sighed, looking over to Yami. "One arrow from a human, that's all it would've taken." Yugi looked over to where Dartz was talking, jaw dropping when he saw the prince of the land. Yami's eyes widened, then narrowed, their color brightening in anger.

"You wanted me to kill him!" He shouted. Yugi gasped and backed away.

"You're a hunter aren't you?! Why else would I lure you here?! Of course, now you're useless." He smirked. "Useless as…say….a pig!" He charged up his pendant and aimed it at Yami. The prince stepped away from Yugi, making sure that the spell wouldn't redirect and hit the little one. At the last minute, Yugi got in front of him, the box lighting up around his neck as it protected him from the attack. Dartz narrowed his eyes. "You can save him you know. Just give the puzzle to me, and I'll leave him alone." Yami pulled another arrow from his quiver and shot at Dartz. The dark mage held up his pendant, stopping the arrow in its tracks and making it disentigrate into nothing. Dartz smirked. "You obviously have no idea who you're dealing with." He said, charging up his pendant again. Yami braced himself for the attack, not going to show him that he was afraid. Just as Dartz was going to unleash the attack, a call went through the forest. Dartz stopped. He listened for a moment, then began preparing the attack again.

"Daddy!" A high, annoying voice called. Dartz sighed and glared at the two.

"I'll deal with you later. Don't assume you're safe." He turned into the leviathan and flew off.

-

--

-

Anzu screeched as the musk of skunks circled around her. She squealed at them and tried to leave, only to screech as the skunks sprayed her again, keeping her within their circle. She screamed as the smell overpowered her senses.

"Oooh! You're all roadkill! Daddy!" Chris laughed.

"That's right everyone! Let her have it!" Dartz landed beside them, transforming back into a man. Chris and Joey gasped, running off into the woods along with the skunks they had called. Dartz coughed at the strong smell, but still smiled sweetly at Anzu.

"Anzu."

"Ugh! This is the worst day of my entire life!" She screeched. He chuckled at seeing her torment.

"Don't worry dear. You just need a bath in some vinegar and tomato juice." He transformed back into a dragon and picked her up.

"Do I look like a salad Dad?" Dartz's smirk got wider.

"A long bath."

-

--

-

Yami looked over to the little one and smiled.

"Thank you. You saved my life." Yugi blushed, and Yami couldn't help but feel that it was endearing, and contributed to the look of innocence that hung about him.

"W-Well, the puzzle protects me. As long as I wear it, I'm not in danger." He chuckled. Yugi almost melted at the sound.

"That's not what it looked like to me little one. Thank you." He twined their fingers together. Yugi's blush darkened. "So, where are we?" Yugi giggled.

"I haven't seen much of this place, but I could show you swan lake." Yami smiled at him.

"That sounds wonderful." Yugi looked away shyly.

"Okay." He whispered. Yami chuckled at the little ones hesitation. They started walking toward where the lake that he had first seen when he came here was.

"So, who was that man?"

"Well….you see…."

--

Yugi and Yami walked through the forest, looking at the scenery and catching sneaking glances at each other, Yugi blushing when he was caught, Yami smirking whenever he was found out. Joey and Chris along with the other animals carried food and drink to a table within the forest, while Yugi and Yami explored. Yugi leaned down to smell a flower, only to jump when faeries came out. Yami laughed at the expression on his face, Yugi pouting, but soon smiling again. They hopped over rocks on a stream as they followed the elves. Chris handed Yugi a bouqet of flowers. He put his nose in them to catch their scent, only to jump when the faeries reappeared and circled around him, giving him a violet tunic with silver edging. Yugi smiled shyly at Yami, who chuckled at the boy's shining innocence. They sat down together, jumping when Joey appeared right next to them, trying to get a treat. Yami raised an eyebrow at him. He got the message and backed off, smiling sheepishly. Yami turned back to Yugi and smiled, holding out his hand. Yugi blushed, but did the same, putting his petite hand in Yami's own. He leaned down and kissed his slim fingers. Yugi blushed even more, but let him do it. They spent the rest of the night talking about one another, finding out what they liked and didn't like. Yami was estatic to learn that Yugi had a passion for games, much like him. They played a few on the ground and Yami was delighted again when he found out how _good_ he was as well. Yugi showed him the puzzle, and the two began working on it, to Yugi's delight, they made twice the progress they had been earlier, by the time the sun was rising, it was almost done. Sadly, the kind of bonding that they were doing made time pass all too quickly, and soon dawn was approaching. They were walking near the water's edge of swan lake. Yami took Yugi's hand.

"Yugi, tomorrow night, my mother is throwing a royal ball. Come with me. I can protect you." Yugi looked away, trying to buy time. He noticed the sun.

"It's nearly dawn." He whispered. Yami squeezed his hand.

"Yugi please. Come with me, I can protect you and your family. Please." Yugi looked to the all the elves who had yet to transform into their animal shapes. Yugi sighed.

"I can't. I'm sorry Yami. But somehow I've been connected to the puzzle. I can't just leave them here. I need to find a way to break this spell."

"I'm not letting Dartz get away with this. I'll come back with an army if I have too." Yugi sighed.

"You can't, he's too powerful. He'll do to them what he's done to the others…to me." Yami turned and clasped his hands.

"I'll do whatever it takes."

"And your men?" Yami looked away.

"I'll take that risk."

"Please Yami. Go home. I couldn't stand it if Dartz hurt you to get at me."

"And leave you here?" He asked incredously.

"Do you really want to help?"

"Yes." He replied earnestly.

"Then find my grandpa. Tell him I'm all right, that I'll be home soon." Yugi looked at the ground. "He must be so worried."

"But…"

"Please Yami. For me? I'll be all right. I'm safe as long as I have the puzzle." Yugi fingered it. The puzzle was nearly complete, now hanging from the chain that had held the box. It was in the shape of an upside down pyramid with a loop for a string to go through. He looked to the sun. It had just begun to show itself. The other elves began to turn back into their animal forms.

"No…" Yugi was encompassed in his golden light. "No!" But it was too late. Yugi was already a stag again, with the silver collar that held the puzzle around his neck. "No." Yugi sighed and turned to look at his reflection.

"Please Yami." The prince sighed.

"Fine, but only if you come to the palace."

"But…"

"Then I stay here." He said stubbornly. Yugi sighed.

"Okay. I'll come. I promise." He gave him a smile and galloped off. Yami watched him go with sad eyes.

-

--

-

Yami cantered up to the building where Yugi had said his grandfather lived. It was a small shop that sold many toys, including his favorite game of duel monsters. Yami sighed.

'_If it weren't for the fact that I was bringing news of Yugi I would probably buy some.'_ He sighed and went up to the door and knocked. He received no answer.

"He's gone your highness." He looked over to see a fruit vendor bowing. "They left to go look for Solomon's grandson. He's gone missing." Yami nodded and got back up on his horse.

"When he returns, have him see me right away." The vendor bowed again.

"Of course your highness." He picked up his cart and went on his way, while Yami cantered off to the palace.

-

--

-

Deep in the forest, laughter was heard. Honda burst out of the doors of the library.

"Yes! I found it! I found it! Yes! This troll is on a roll!" He ran off to swan lake to find Yugi and the others, oblivious when one of the mushrooms turned into a raven and flew off. "See? See? I found it. I found it! Just a matter of time." Marik snickered.

"What exactly did ya find?" Joey asked. Honda thought for a moment.

"A book on the power of the millennium puzzle!" They all gasped. Marik leaned forward.

"And where was it?" Honda scratched the back of his head.

"Um….I was using it for a stabilizer on my favorite chair." All the animals laughed. Honda blushed.

"S'okay bud! Maybe next time you could use it as a head rest, that way you can see it!" Joey said cheerfully. Honda growled and slapped him upside the head. "Anyway, here." He handed the book to Yugi. He opened the book and turned a few pages.

"It says: The one who completes the millennium puzzle, will share a love so true, that its power will overcome all others."

"You and the prince!" Chris squealed. Yugi blushed.

"No. I-it couldn't be." Joey smiled boyishly.

"I think it is Yug'. Who else could it be? You saw how fast you put solved that thing together." Yugi blushed to a deep beet red and looked away.

"Well….Maybe." Joey beamed.

"See?"

"Uh, oh. Guys, there's a however." Ryou said. The others looked to him.

"It says: If however, the one the chosen loves."

"Meaning his royal sexiness!" Joy shouted.

"Joey!" Yugi said in embaressment.

"Pledges love to another."

"Meanin' not Yugi?!"

"The millennium puzzle will lose all its power!" Ryou looked up at them in horror.

"What?! Dat's not fair!" Joey said in outrage. Iron heart sighed.

"No, it isn't. But prophecies cannot be rewritten."

"You must understand. True love is very rare." Honda said.

"Ya mean like met da parents rare? Everyone gets along rare?" Joey asked incredously.

"A start. But True love is where two people love each other so much, they become a part of each other, like two halves of one whole. Alone they are two, but together they are one. That kind of selfless love has awesome power."

"Ah, I see! Two for one! Den' we gotta get you ready!"

"For what?" Yugi asked.

"For da royal ball!" He looked to Honda. "Who knew you were such a helpless romantic." Honda scowled.

"Shut up."

"Hey, has anyone seen Marik?" Everyone looked around, surprised when they didn't see him.

"He's probably gone off to find some poor animal to scare. Don't worry about it." Joey said.

"Now come on Yugi, we have to teach you how to dance." Iron heart stepped forward.

"I don't have much power left, but here." He touched the millennium puzzle. Yugi was encompassed in the familiar golden light. When it faded he was dressed in a white shirt and a shimmering silver vest with a violet jacket and midnight black pants with black boots that shone in the moonlight. Amethyst gems sparkled on the edgings of the jacket. Silver buttons shone like stars. Chris beamed.

"You look beautiful Yugi." He blushed good naturedly.

"Thanks Chris." She giggled. Ryou stepped forward.

"Wait!" They all turned to look at Joey. "Shouldn' we complete the puzzle first?" Yugi nodded.

"Right. There's only three pieces left." He knelt and brought out the box, pulling out three pieces. Everyone watched in rapt attention as they fitted into place. Yugi held the final piece up to the light, licked his lips…and slid it into place. Everyone cheered as they gazed at the completed puzzle. It was a perfectly smooth upside down pyramid with an eye in the center that seemed to sparkle and glow with energy. Ryou smiled and stepped forward again.

"Now, just follow my movements, and you'll soon be the most graceful person on the floor." Yugi nodded and started to copy his movements.

-

--

-

Marik flew over the forest, looking for any signs of life other than the local animals. He banked when he got a glimpse of a fire. Landing carefully, he walked toward the clearing it was in, checking to see if he could tell whether it was Yugi's grandfather or not. All he saw was a young boy sitting by the fire. Sighing, he was about to take off again, when he stopped and turned back around to take a closer look.

The boy looked a lot like him, only slightly less insane and a little more innocent. He went to step forward, then thought better of it. He took a step back, and winced as he heard a twig snap. The boy's head snapped up in his direction. Marik melted at the sight of the lavender orbs. He began to panic when the boy stepped toward toward him.

"Yugi? Yugi is that you?" Marik stopped.

'_He knows Yugi?'_ He smirked. _'This must be Malik.'_ He licked his lips. _'What a pretty mortal.'_ He chuckled. "Not quite. But I know where he is." Malik tensed.

"What do you mean? Who are you? Did you kidnap Yugi?"

"Malik who are you talking to?" An old man with spiky grey hair and gentle violet eyes came into the clearing.

"A man who claims to know where Yugi is." The old man gasped and looked toward him.

"You do? Where is he? Is he all right? Can you take us to him?" Marik held up his hands.

"Easy old man. Yes, I do know where Yugi is. He's in a secret part of the forest. He's perfectly fine. But no, I can't take you to him." Malik jumped up.

"WHAT?! WHY?!" Marik sighed.

"Because we're over a day away from the entrance if we go by foot, which we would seeing as I couldn't carry both of you. And Yugi is going to the royal ball tomorrow." Malik raised an eyebrow.

"How do you know that? And if he was going to go to the ball, then why didn't he stay at home? And why won't you come out into the light?" Marik sighed.

"Because of this." He stepped into the firelight. Malik and Yugi's grandfather gasped. Marik sighed. "Yugi, along with everyone else in the enchanted forest, has been cursed. I was an elf, but Dartz turned me into a griffon. I can only turn back into myself at night. Yugi is a stag by day, human by night. He's trying to break the spell on us and himself. His true love is going to be at the royal ball. That's the only way for him to defeat him. I just came to tell you that he was fine, and that he would be home soon." He turned around to take off.

"Wait!" Marik turned to look back. "You say that Yugi is safe. Prove it. Take me with you." Marik lifted an eyebrow, but inwardly smirked.

"All right, hold on!" He grabbed him around his waist and took off. Solomon raced after them.

"Wait! Malik!" He looked down.

"Go back to the village Grandpa! I'll be with Yugi at the ball!" He called back. Solomon sighed.

"Be careful."

-

--

-

Yugi had spent hours practicing dances, doing both the male and female parts. Iron heart watched as Yugi moved with an unnatural grace. All the others had started to dance as well, and were enjoying themselves a lot. The light of dawn was coming when Marik spotted them. He grinned and headed toward them.

"There he is! HEY YUGI! Look what I found!" Yugi stopped dancing and looked up. He beamed when he saw his childhood friend.

"Malik! You're here!" Malik smiled when he saw Yugi.

"Hey Yugi! You look hot!" Yugi blushed brightly and looked down. Marik circled them and began a gentle dive to land. All of a sudden Dartz dove out of the sky and intercepted them. His tail crashed into Marik on his head and made him lose consciousness. He grabbed both of them and flew away.

"No!" Anzu swooped down and grabbed Honda and the book. "NO!" The sun rose, turning him into a stag again. Iron heart tried to stop them with his magic, but all of a sudden his golden glow faded and he crashed to the ground. Yugi sighed and looked to everyone. "Come on! We can't let Dartz win! We just can't!" He narrowed his eyes as he tried to think of a plan.

-

--

-

Deep in the woods, Dartz was looking at the book that Honda had found. Honda himself was tied upside down, and desperately trying to get free.

"Hmmm….Interesting. So the millennium puzzle isn't invincible after all. I wonder what my cousin would say to that."

"There's nothing in there!" He said desperately. "Just fairy tales! I assure you!" Dartz turned to Anzu.

"Anzu my dear, do you remember the puzzle you wanted?" She nodded enthusiastically.

"Am I going to get it daddy? Am I?" She asked in excitement.

"Yes my little angel. Tonight. At the royal ball. My spies tell me that Yugi will be there to meet the prince." He touched the gem on her pendant, filling it with his magic. It changed from ruby red to jade green.

"Daddy! That was my third favorite necklace!" She said.

"It's magic now my dear. Now whenever that fool Yami sees you, he will see his true love, Yugi." Malik gasped. The prince? In love with Yugi? Anzu tilted her head, a pout still on her features.

"So?"

"So? You can trick him into declaring his love for you." Anzu's features lit up.

"Oh! I've always wanted to marry a prince!" Dartz smirked.

"Once Yami swears his love to you the powers of the puzzle will fade, and then we will fufill our destinies! I will be the ruler of the entire kingdom!"

"And I'll be the most stylish creature in it!" Anzu squealed.

"And who knows what other worlds we could conquer? Maybe we could even take a liking to….the royal palace!" Anzu cackled in delight.

"It won't work!" Honda shouted. Dartz smirked.

"Bold words coming from a troll who's about to be eaten." He stalked forward and gathered energy around his pendant. With a punch, the energy was released and turned Honda into a worm.

"Hey! Leave him alone!" Malik snarled, trying to get rid of his own bonds, looking worriedly at Marik who was still unconscious. Anzu smirked at him.

"Ooh! This little kitty has a bite!" She tickled his chin. Malik growled and snapped at her fingers. Anzu screeched. Malik smirked.

"A cat?" Dartz said. "Yess….you are like a kitten…..Anzu…..do you want a new pet?" Anzu squealed.

"Oh yes!" Dartz smirked.

"Very well. You shall have one!" He shot his magic at Malik, fading to reveal a sandy colored kitten. Malik mewed. Anzu squealed at him.

"Awww! He's so adorable!" She bent down and picked him up. Malik hissed and scratched her, running out the window. Anzu tried to go after him.

"Leave him Anzu." She pouted at her father.

"But daddy!"

"No. Let him go. Let him find his friends. Let them know I know their weakness." Anzu pouted that she had lost her kitten, but mumbled.

"Kittens are out of fashion anyway."

-

--

-

Yugi and the others approached Dartz's palace. Joey shivered.

"Gives me the creeps jus' lookin at it." Yugi looked to Iron heart.

"Honda….is he?"

"Still alive." Iron heart said. "But under a magic spell." Yugi nodded. Ryou gulped.

"So how do we get in?" He asked. Yugi looked around.

"Well….Dartz flies almost everywhere he goes….there's probably an entrance on the roof." Chris sighed, exasperated.

"Great! None of us are able to fly!" Yugi narrowed his eyes.

"Hey!" Everyone jumped. "Down here!" Iron heart bent down. He came back up with a sandy colored kitten. The kitten panted, snuggling into Iron hearts arms.

"Boy am I glad to see you guys!" Yugi looked at the kitten closely. His eyes widened.

"Malik?" He asked. The kitten looked up.

"Hey Yugi. Yeah, it's me." He observed his friends new form. "You know, you don't look bad like that, fairly alluring." Yugi blushed, then shook his head.

"That's not something we need to think about right now. How did you get out?"

"Through an open window. I was able to see through the mist somehow." He looked back.

"Yugi. Dartz knows the weakness of that puzzle you're wearing. You need to be careful." Yug looked down at it and sighed.

"Okay. Malik, could you show us how you got in?" The kitten nodded.

"Just follow me." He leaped out of Iron hearts arms and went to the edge of the ledge. He leaped down. Yugi looked at everyone, then followed him. Malik trotted through the mist, constantly mewing so that Yugi knew where he was. Yugi would occasionally stumble over logs and stones, but nothing ever too serious. Malik came to a low window just big enough for Yugi to leap into. Malik went inside and stepped aside. Yugi leaped in and began to look for their friends.

"Honda? Marik?" He stepped around, looking for either one. "Honda?"

"Psst! Over here!" Yugi looked over and saw Marik unconscious on a hearth rug. He cantered over and looked down. A worm was hiding under one of Marik's paws. Yugi bent his head down.

"Honda?" The worm sighed.

"Don't ask." He looked around. "Be careful. The raven's are here! And worse, they're hungry!" Malik lowered his head so that Honda could get on top of it. With a caw, the raven's appeared, not about to let their meal get away. Yugi helped Marik up and, with a grunt, started to lead him out of the palace. They exited through the window. Yugi had to shove him out the window and follow him. Getting under him again, he started heading after Malik and Honda. The raven's pecked and poked him with their beaks. Yugi cried out at the pain but kept going. Malik looked behind him and saw how hard a time Yugi was having with Marik. He turned around and ran to him.

"Go! You take care of Honda. I'll get Marik moving."

"But…"

"GO!" Yugi reluctantly nodded and helped Honda onto his horns. He ran back through the fog and leaped onto the edge. The raven's followed him. Joey leaped in front of the ledge and barked. Startled, they back winged and tried to get away. Chris leapt down from a branch and pelted them with nuts. Soon they were all on the ground unconscious.

"Yeah baby! We're good!" Joey said proudly. Meanwhile Malik was trying to get Marik to wake up. Out of exasperation he bit his ear. Marik yelped and shot up. He glared, looking for who had done that. Malik leaped onto him and licked his face, nuzzling his cheek.

"Marik! You're awake!" Marik blinked, then gasped.

"Malik?" He nodded sadly. Marik clenched his talons.

"Where are the others?"

"Up on the ledge. Can you fly us out of this mist?" Marik nodded. Malik leaped up onto his back. Marik ran, pumping his wings until they were airborne. He circled down to where the others were.

"Marik! You're awake!"

"Yeah. No thanks to a certain someone." He mock glared at Malik. He just grinned back.

"Come on! We have to get the ball!"

-

--

-

It was almost sunset, carriages from different kingdoms rolled into the courtyard of the royal palace. People from all over the land stood in the hallways and talked, whispering about who the prince would choose as his bride. Mana, the queen, strode gracefully through the halls. She stopped when she spotted her son pacing impatiently in a side hall. She squinted to make sure it was her son, then walked toward him.

"Yami, what are you doing? The ball is starting." Yami sighed. He was dressed in a sleek black shirt edged in gold. Rubies were embedded into the fabric, glittering somberly in the light. A dark red velvet sash was draped across his chest. Coal black pants and boots with gold buckles were on his legs. He paced back and forth.

"I know. I'm waiting for someone." He said.

"A future bride I hope." She said. Yami looked around for him and grinned.

"I guess you could say so."

"Well!" She said. "This is quite a surprise!" She looped his arm. "Come! I want you to come and introduce us the minute she comes in." Yami smirked.

'_If only she knew.'_ He thought. "If he arrives."

-

--

-

"And then Dartz said that he would disguise Anzu as Yugi and use her to trick Yami and declare his love to her!"

"What?! It can't work like dat!" Joey shouted.

"Yes! Yami must be in love with Yugi! If he's not, who knows what'll happen!" The others couldn't help but agree with Ryou.

"I can go! I used to live there after all." Malik said.

"No, I'll go." Yugi said.

"You go? Yugi there must be at least a dozen hunters waiting to shoot a perfect stag like you." Ryou said. Honda nodded sadly. "I should know. I was there. It's a tough crowd."

"But it has to be me. I'm the only one who can! If Yami sees me, he'll see that he's being tricked!" Ryou pouted.

"Unfortunately he has a point." Marik said. Iron heart sighed.

"Use the puzzle to unlock the rock at the waterfall Yugi." Iron heart said. "Good luck."

"And Yugi!" He looked back at Marik and Malik. "Watch your back." Yugi nodded and galloped off toward the palace.

-

--

-

At the palace, everyone was beginning to dance, floating gracefully across the dance floor. Mana went over to Yami.

"Your special girl?" She asked. Yami sighed.

"No sign of him yet." Yami found it odd that his mother hadn't commented on his use of him instead of her.

"Well until then you can't be rude, and there are some very lovely young girls around here. Find someone wonderful to dance with until she arrives." Yami smirked and turned to his mother.

"May I?" He asked, bowing gallantly to her. Mana giggled.

"Rascal." She scolded him, but they began dancing anyway. Dartz and his daughter Anzu came into the ballroom. She was dressed in a shimmering silk pink dress with diamonds set in it. The ruby necklace hung down on her chest. She looked very beautiful, but one look and you knew something was off. Dartz smirked when he saw Yami dancing with his mother. He turned to his daughter.

"Remember. Not a word." He said.

"Why not?" She asked in her annoying voice.

"Hush my child! Not a word." Yami looked over and smiled when he saw something. Instead of seeing Dartz and his daughter, he saw Yugi dressed in a beautiful outfit of violet, silver and black. Beside him was a man obviously getting on in his years. His hair was silvery grey and his eyes were golden like a hawks as he looked around for Yami, smirking when he saw Yami walking toward them.

"Your majesties." He said politely, hating the fact that he had to bow to them.

"I'm glad you came." Yami said, looking to Yugi with loving eyes.

"And I..." Dartz squeezed her fingers. She immediately shut her mouth and smiled sweetly at them.

"We were glad to make it." Dartz said. Yami bowed to Yugi and held out his hand.

"Will you dance with me?" He asked. Anzu nodded and they walked onto the dance floor. Yami smiled. "I see you finished the millennium puzzle." He gazed at her lovingly. Mana watched them go suspiciously. There was something off about that girl. Yami and Anzu walked to the center of the dance floor. He let go of her hand and she walked off a short distance away from him. Everyone stopped talking as they noticed who had taken the dance floor. Dartz's eyes narrowed in victory as he watched them both start to dance. Anzu was very graceful, but everyone wondered why the prince would pick her. But Yami didn't see a beautiful girl with an ugly smile. He only had eyes for the beautiful form she had taken.--Yugi galloped through the forest as fast as he could, dodging trees and leaping over obstacles. --Yami continued to dance with Anzu, watching as Yugi's violet jacket swirled around him.

"You know, I promised my mother I would find myself a bride tonight." He said. "And I never break a promise." Anzu smirked and continued to dance. Mana watched them dance. She had to admit, they looked wonderful together. She smiled at Dartz.

"It seems my son is enamored with your daughter." She said. Dartz smirked.

"Yes it does, doesn't it?" He said. They went back to watching the two dance.

Yugi galloped down the cobblestone streets as fast as he could, passing startled shopkeepers and excited huntsmen. Yugi went faster as he knew arrows would be flying soon. He ran right past the game shop, where Solomon had just finished putting on the appropriate clothing for the ball. He stopped at the door when he saw the stag galloping past the shop. He blinked in amazement.

"Yugi?" He asked. Yugi galloped up the bridge and toward the ballroom, trying to find a way in. Inside Yami was still dancing, becoming more and more entranced by Anzu's grace and easiness with all of their stares. Dartz kept smiling, knowing it wouldn't be long. He looked to the open window and saw Yugi cantering toward it. He narrowed his eyes and clenched his hand. His pendant flashed for a moment and the windows closed. Yugi reared up so that he wouldn't run into them and tried to find another way in. He went to a small side window and gasped at what he saw. Anzu was dancing with Yami, and performing beautifully.

"No." He whispered. Dartz gritted his teeth and closed those windows as well. Yugi gasped and tried to look for another way in, growing desperate. Yami cleared his throat.

"What I'm trying to say is….will you marry me?" Yugi hung his head.

"No." It felt like his heart was breaking. "No!" Anzu walked away from Yami and Dartz stepped forward.

"I'm sorry your highness, but I couldn't help but overhear. Are you asking for my son's hand in marriage?"

"Yes." He said. Dartz smirked.

"What _I_ am asking is….do you love him?"

"Yes." Yami said, with all the fortitude he could muster. Yugi froze….he…didn't love him? Yugi's heart broke and he fell to his knees, collapsing to the ground and falling to his side. The puzzle dulled until it was ash grey.

"Thank you your highness! That's exactly what I've been waiting to hear!" His pendant glowed and the spell around Anzu broke. Yami's eyes widened and he released the girls hand immediately.

"No…Dartz…" Anzu giggled.

"What day should we get married handsome?" She asked.

"Where is Yugi?!" He shouted.

"Who cares?! You've already pledged your love to my daughter!" Anzu blew him a kiss and batted her eyelids. They both transformed into dragons, causing everyone there to scream. Bakura tossed Yami a sword. Yami caught it and aimed it at the two. Dartz laughed and they flew off.

"Bye bye, big boy!" Anzu called. Outside, Yugi transformed back into his human self, still dressed for the ball. Dartz and Anzu landed beside him. They transformed back into humans.

"Well,well! What a sad and beautiful picture." He bent own and removed his necklace. "Let's see how brave you are without the puzzle." He removed it from its silver chain and handed it to Anzu. "There you go my child. Your necklace, as promised." He put it on and squealed.

"Oh! It's me isn't it?!" She asked. Dartz didn't respond. Anzu held the slim chain up to the light.

"A futile legend wasn't it? You? Beating me? You're nothing!" Anzu gasped.

"Daddy look out!" He turned around just in time to dodge Yami's slash as he jumped down from his spot. Dartz laughed.

"Ha! Come to discuss the wedding plans?!" Yami lunged forward. Dartz turned his sword into a feather. "I believe it's your move." He said.

-

--

-

Ryou hastily pulled a carriage into the courtyard, looking for Yugi and the prince. They stopped when they saw Yugi. Chris gasped.

"We're too late." She whispered. Iron heart stood up.

"No…." They all looked up. "He's still alive….but only barely." The faerie lights that had lit the way last night rushed forward to go get him. Yami saw them and decided to stall.

"So what're you waiting for?" He sneered. "Come and get me! I'm right here! Not an easy target to miss!" He dove behind Anzu. She shrieked as Dartz's magic surrounded her and turned her into a pig. Dartz's eyes flared in anger. The sun set behind the palace.

"My child!" He went over to her. While he was distracted, the lights picked Yugi up and carried him to the carriage. Joey and the others caught him and set him down so that he was comfortable. Ryou grabbed the bars, as he was now human, and raced off. Bakura watched him and smirked, licking his lips at the thought of having someone like that by his side. Dartz saw them going away and tried to go after them.

"Daddy!" Anzu snorted. "Daddy, make it go away! Make it go away!" She squealed. Dartz looked between his daughter and the carriage for a while, before transforming into the leviathan and flying after the carriage. "Daddy wait! I've got a serious situation here!"

-

--

-

The carriage went through the forest as fast as Ryou could run. Joey had leaped out a little while ago and had begun to help him. Iron heart stroked Yugi's hair as they went toward the enchanted forest.

"Hang in there Yugi." They heard a loud roar and looked up. Dartz was following them in his dragon form, and quickly gaining up on them. The faerie lights circled them and pulled them into the air so that they were flying. Joey whooped.

"Oh yeah baby! Now we're talkin'!" They raced through the air. When they neared the waterfall, Ryou lowered his head. Where his horn would be, a white spot glowed. The boulder moved out of the way for them. The carriage swooped through and out the tunnel and into the forest. Dartz followed close behind. Dartz smirked as he gained up on them. His eyes glowed green for a moment as his magic worked. A tree fell into their path. Ryou and Joey gasped and tried to move it out of the way. The carriage swerved and broke apart. Ryou and Joey got up from the ground, shaking their heads. Dartz landed on the ground and transformed.

"Ah….much better. I don't like to rush around. Bad for the digestion." He smirked. "And now for the boy." He said, striding forward. Ryou gulped and stepped forward.

"No, you'll have to get through me first." Ryou said. Joey stepped forward.

"Me too." Chris stepped in front of him as well.

"Me three." Dartz laughed.

"Oh look! The three musketeers!"

"Leave them alone Dartz." Iron heart said. "You're battle is with me." Dartz stoked his chin.

"You know….you're absolutely right!" He shot a beam of energy at Iron heart. He tried to defend himself, but no dice. The magic surrounded him, and when it faded he was a mouse. Ryou bent down and put Iron heart in his hand.

"Oh, Iron heart." Joey looked at them in disbelief. He narrowed his eyes at Dartz.

"Dat's it! I'm gonna knock you inta next week!" He charged at Dartz. The man moved aside at the last minute and he crashed into a tree. Joey fell backwards in a dead faint. Chris ran forward and tried to scratch his face. Dartz held up his hand and stopped her in her tracks.

"Is that all you can do?" He asked. Joey got up off of the ground. "Now I will call forth my ultimate beast! The great levia….!!" A high whinny made him look over to the entrance of the forest. Yami rode up on a black horse. He dismounted and aimed his bow at Dartz's back. Dartz whirled around and stopped the arrow in its tracks, again disentigrating it into dust. Yugi blinked as he came back into consciousness. Yami pulled out a new sword and pointed it at Dartz. "You don't know when to give up do you?" Dartz asked. He blasted Yami's sword out of his hand, then blasted another beam of energy at him. Yami ducked behind a tree to avoid it. "But you're a strong soul. Far stronger than any I've found." He clenched his hand and a net of sickly green energy captured the prince. "Your sacrifice would greatly increase the leviathan's power." He said, putting a finger under Yami's jaw. The prince just stared him straight in the eye, unafraid. He was about to plunge his hand into Yami's chest, when Yugi shouted.

"STOP!!" The two turned to see Yugi glaring at Dartz. "If you want him, you'll have to go through me." Dartz laughed. "Do you really think that you, a puny little human could defeat me?" He charged up his pendant.

"Yugi you can't! You don't have the puzzle!" Yugi shook his head.

"It doesn't matter. As long as you live." He turned to Dartz and nodded. The king laughed cruelly.

"How chivalrous of you. Very well!" He charged up his pendant and aimed it straight for Yugi. The boy stood as still as a rock. He wasn't afraid. He was willing to die for Yami, even if he didn't return his feelings. A few inches in front of his face Yugi closed his eyes. With a deafening bang, the magic exploded and vanished into thin air. Yugi opened his eyes again in surprise. "You!" Yugi looked over to Dartz, who was livid. "How do you know the white magic's?!" He looked down at himself. Sure enough, he was glowing with a pure white radiance, the signal of white magic's, the most powerful energy to manipulate. He looked back up at Dartz. Would he be able to win after all? Dartz smirked. It didn't matter to him. The white magic's might be strong, but he had just discovered his power. It would not take much to bring this boy to his knees. "Great Leviathan! I summon you!" The ground began to shake. The elves ran in every direction, trying to find a place to hide. Several trees nearby fell around them, beautiful white bark dulling to black. With a mighty roar, the Great Leviathan emerged from the earth, and Yugi saw why Dartz's form was considered small.

The Great Leviathan was over a thousand feet high, and a thousand feet long. It towered over the entire forest and blocked out the sun, casting a dark shadow over the land. Wicked teal green eyes gazed coldly into his own. Yami just stared. How could anyone stand up to that thing?! Black slime shot out from the creatures body and encircled him. Yami cried out and tried to fight it off, but was only pulled towards its hideous body.

"YAMI!!" Yugi shouted, trying to get closer. Dartz zapped a bit of magic at him.

"Ah, ah, ah little one. In order to save your lover, you have to play by my rules. Or else…" He clicked his fingers. The black slime dragged Yami into the Leviathan's skin up to his ankles. "He'll be absorbed by my beast." Yugi had a look of desperation and rage on his face. He gazed between Yami and Dartz, before bowing his head and nodding. "Good. The rules are simple. Defeat me in a duel, and I'll free the prince. But if you fail, yours and his soul is forfeit to the Leviathan. Do you understand?" Before Yugi could give confirmation, Dartz began attacking him. Yugi managed to conjure up a shield that held in place. To his surprise, it took very little energy. If he waited long enough, Dartz might exhaust his energy supplies and he could attack. His concentration slipped though, when he heard Yami cry out. He looked up, only to see that Yami had sunk into the Leviathan's skin up to his knees. Dartz chuckled. "Oh. Did I forget to mention that there's a time limit? If you don't defeat me in the next ten minutes, your precious lover will be completely absorbed by my great beast." Yugi felt tears well up in his eyes. What could he do? He didn't know enough about his magic to attack. Yami looked down to him with complete trust in his eyes. Yugi nodded, and turned back to Dartz. He put his hands in a circle and gathered up a ball of energy. When he thought it was enough, he threw it at the man across from him, only to have it batted away like a fly. Yami sunk in to his waist. Yugi glanced up at him worriedly, before trying again. He formed a spear out of light, which he threw at Dartz, only to have the same result. Yugi kept on trying, pulling feints, tricks, and even making decoys. Somehow, Dartz always knew what he was doing, and countered it perfectly. He looked up to Yami. He was up to his neck in the Leviathan's body, yet his eyes still held the same trust and faith that they had at the beginning. The Leviathan engulfed him even more. Yami winced as the scales and slime closed in over his head.

"NOO!" He shouted. A powerful blow of energy hit him square in the chest and sent him flying into the Leviathan. Dartz chuckled.

"It seems I win little one." The slime gathered around him and pulled him up towards where Yami disappeared, before slowly swallowing him up as well. "I hope you enjoy being trapped as a power source for my monster." He smirked evilly. "Oh well. At least you get to be with your little lover." He didn't hear anymore, as the slime had closed in over his head.

It was dark, pitch dark; and cold, so very, very cold. It felt like he was floating. He reached out for something to steady him, and found an icy hand. He looked over, opening his eyes. It was Yami, his own eyes were dull and weary, but he still managed a small smile. Yugi smiled gently back, taking his hand and twining their fingers together. Dartz was right. They would spend eternity here, but at least they would be together. Yugi felt his eyelids grow heavy as the Leviathan pulled strength from his body. 'I love you' Yugi thought. He could've sworn he heard a response back, saying that he was loved as well. Still smiling, he let black oblivion fall on his consciousness, succumbing to the will to sleep. He never noticed the small light that began to accumulate in their hands.

-

--

-

Iron heart and the other elves watched in horror as Yugi and the prince were sucked into the Leviathan. Dartz laughed maniacally.

"Ha! That wasn't a bad deal! Two for one!" The puzzle around his neck lit up. "This world is mine!" The puzzle began to shine and sparkle, gaining back its golden hue. Dartz turned to them. "And you're next!" The elves tensed, only to stare at the puzzle, which had began emitted a blinding white light. Dartz frowned at their confusion, before looking down, eyes wideneding at what he saw. "What? No! NO!"

"The puzzle! Its power isn't gone!" Joey shouted joyfully. A golden light spread through Dartz, the puzzle glowing brighter and brighter until it was blinding. Dartz's palace began to shake and crumble. Life spread into the parts of the forest Dartz had taken over. Ryou set Iron heart back on the ground and he turned back into a human, now a youthful man who looked a bit like Dartz, only with brown hair instead of green and warm brown eyes. All of the other creatures turned back into their normal selves. They smiled. But their joy was soon dissipated when they heard a cruel laugh.

"Fools! Do you think I could be gotten rid of that easily?!" The looked up. The Great Levaithan was still there, only with a small change. On his nose, was a black figure that looked like Dartz with even wilder and darker hair. The millennium puzzle was in the center of his chest, coated with the same black substance. "I have the ultimate power! Not even the puzzle can overcome the great evil within the heart of my beast!" He began blasting away at the forest, laughing. The elves screamed and ran for places to hide. Dartz roared in glee at the chaos, before stopping. On his back, one of his scales had turned from black to gold. Dartz turned around to get a closer look at it. "What…." The gold began spreading. "No…" A golden spot appeared on his chest, before spreading. "No!" Gold spots began appearing everywhere on his body, spreading and turning white. "NOOOO!!" The Leviathan exploded into millions of beads of light. The droplets hung in the air for a moment, before scattering every which way, disappearing into the night. One by one, the elves came out of their hiding places. On the ground, where the great leviathan had fallen, lay Yami and Yugi, their clothes perfectly in tact, only Yugi's were the ones he had worn when he had started this whole adventure. The millennium puzzle lay beside them, most of its glitter and sparkle gone. Joey, Malik, Marik, and Ryou raced to their sides, kneeling down. Ryou checked their pulses, only to sigh.

"They're dead." Everyone bowed their heads. The millennium puzzle flashed for a moment, before giving off a gentle, steady light. Yugi groaned, and Yami began to stir.

"Look!" Chris said. "They're waking! The legend! It has to be true!" She sighed. "True love!" Yugi lifted his head heavily and looked down to Yami who was also waking up. They stared at each other, eyes lost in each other. Yugi's eyelids drooped, his eyes darkening to a dark violet.

"Why don't you just kiss me already?" He asked. Yami smirked and pulled him down into a fierce kiss. Yugi was startled, but soon melted into the embrace. They parted for a moment.

"Dartz tricked me." He said between kisses. "It's you I love….If you'll have me?" He asked. Yugi hugged him tightly.

"Of course." Joey handed the puzzle back to Yugi.

"Here ya are Yug'." The boy nodded and put it around his neck.

"Oh….It hasn't got any more magic." Yugi said, sighing. Yami chuckled.

"I think its better that way." Yugi smiled.

"Yeah. Me too." He said, tilting his head up and giving the prince another kiss.

-

--

-

A few days later, they held a ball in the enchanted forest. Yugi danced with his grandfather, laughing when they messed up.

"I still can't believe that you were here Yugi, or that you saved this enchanted forest." Yugi laughed.

"Well, a friend of mine told me 'you're braver than you think.' Turns out he was right." Marik puffed out his chest in pride, then turned back to Malik, whom he was flirting with. Malik blushed, but allowed him to do as he wished. Yami tapped Solomon on the shoulder.

"May I?" He said with a bow. Solomon stepped aside.

"First, you must answer a very important question." Yugi and Yami looked at each other. "How many layers for the wedding cake? I was quite a cook back in my time."

"Can it have frosting flowers?" Joey interjected. "I love dos' dings!" Yugi laughed.

"Of course Joey. Of course." He smiled at Yami, who took his hand. They went out to the center of the floor and began dancing their hearts out. Bakura walked up to Ryou, who was conversing good naturedly with a few of the townsfolk, and tapped him on the shoulder.

"Hmm?" Bakura bowed gallantly, taking his hand.

"May I have this dance?" He asked. Ryou blushed when the girls began to giggle, but took his hand anyway.

"Sure." Bakura smirked and began leading him across the dance floor.

-

--

-

The End


	2. Suicide Love

Chapter 2: Suicide Love

Yugi sobbed into his pillows. Why? Why did he have to say it? Say it to his wonderful, gorgeous, pretty, pretty Yami?

He shook his head. No, not Yami. Not anymore. Yami had anhillated himself from him. An hour ago, he had gathered up the courage, and told Yami of his love.

Yes, love. He had loved his dark for a while now. But until tonight he had been too nervous to tell the spirit about it. Now he wished he had never loved in the first place. Yami had reacted violently, throwing him into a wall and forbidding the light from ever coming near him again. He had then spat on his form and left. Sobbing even harder, he curled around a pillow, and cried himself to sleep.

-

Yami snarled as he slammed the door to his room. How could he? That little…little fag?! How dare his hikari-no! He was not his hikari. Not anymore. He laid down on his bed, glaring at the ceiling. Across the hall, he could hear Yugi sobbing his heart out. Yami snorted, easily blocking the sound from his mind. The little fucker could cry all he wanted. He no longer cared. Yami turned on the radio, tuning out the heartbroken sobs. He closed his eyes and lost himself in the melody, carrying his mind away from reality.

-

The next morning, Yugi was late in getting up. Yami didn't mind. He ate his breakfast and walked out the door, only vaguely noticing that Yugi didn't eat a thing. He shrugged it off and continued on his way to school, ignoring the depressed look on his former hikari's face.

When he got to school his friends were there, and asked why Yugi wasn't with him. When he told them they just seemed confused, telling him they already knew. Yami scoffed at them and headed into the building on his own. Throughout the entire day Yami watched his ex-friends and former hikari interact. At the end of the day, he didn't wait for any of their friends, he just walked straight home and into his room, where he sat and began to do his homework. He didn't even turn his head when he heard the shop door faintly open from downstairs. Yugi walked past his door, but he just closed it with his shadows. Yugi sighed quietly, before heading into his room.

-

Yugi winced as he patched up his bruised and battered skin. A few days after Yami had stopped asscosiating with him, the bullies came back. Even though Jou and Honda were more than capable of protecting him, they weren't around twenty four seven like Atemu had been. People realized this, and he soon became easy prey to their whims. He came home each day with at least one extra bruise, and a thinner physique. He had taken to not eating as whenever he was around Yami, he couldn't find an appetite, and at school, the bullies beat him hard enough to make him unable to force anything down his throat. Yugi, finished with tending his wounds, went to work on his homework. Amazingly, he was still making good grades, despite the anguish he was in. He wasn't sure if that was a bad thing or not, but decided to just go with the flow and accept it. Giving a slight yawn, he got up quietly and went down the stairs to get some cold water to keep him up.

-

Yami gasped, his eyes flying open, cold sweat threatening to fall from every pore. He lifted a shaky hand to his bangs and swept them worriedly away. That had been the tenth time he had dreamt of Yugi these past two weeks. It had started out innocently enough, just simple talks with the boy, meaningless conversations that neither particularly enjoyed, which made him wonder why they even got started in the first place. He had thought it was just his mind missing having the brat around. But then it had….progressed. By now he was making love to the small boy, long and hard, passionate and desperate, wonderful and sweet. He grimaced as a throb brought notice to a problem that had developed. He gripped the sheets hard, knuckles turning white at the pain. His loose, silk pajama pants were suddenly tight, much too tight. He lowered the waist band in hopes that it was would help. All it did was let the cool air blow across the tender flesh, making him bite his lip, tightening his grip even more. There were two ways to deal with this problem. He could either wait it out, or….or take care of it. He absolutely refused to touch himself for that boy. Resigned, Yami got up and pulled his pants back on, hissing as the smooth fabric hit his erection. Getting up softly, he headed down to the kitchen to get some sour candy. For some reason, it helped.

-

Yugi reached up and got a glass from the cabinet, tossing in some ice cubes from the freezer before filling it with water from the tap. He turned around, ready to go back up to his room, only to freeze. Yam…Atemu was right behind him, fishing into the jar of sour candies. Yugi flushed. He had had more than one erotic dream involving those sweet and sour delicacies. Atemu, sensing that someone was watching him, turned around and stiffened. Instantly his eyes hardened and gazed down at him.

"What are you doing down here?" He asked venomously. Yugi winced at the harsh tone, turning his head away.

"I just came for some water Atemu, that's all." He said, holding up the glass. Now it was Atemu's turn to wince. Ever since he had told the boy that he wasn't his Aibou he had been using that name, his Egyptian name, the one that had no tie to the delicate boy in front of him.

Somehow, that made him sad.

Yami growled, crushing the candies in his hands.

"You think you can get off the hook that easy?" Yugi looked up to him fearfully.

"A-atemu…" A harsh slap echoed through the room. Yugi just stood there, shock and pain on his face. He looked up into the strangers eyes, and quietly tried to exit. Atemu gripped his arm painfully. Yugi didn't even flinch. Atemu however, was shocked. The body underneath his fingertips was not the healthy physique he had once known. He could feel the outline of the bone, the loose, almost rubbery feel of his skin, the tender, yielding flesh of deep bruising. Pulling the boy closer, he felt down his chest, shocked and disgusted that he could count every rib under his fingertips. A soft, muffled moan made its way to his ears. Yugi had his eyes closed tightly with a hand over his mouth. Disgust took over his concern and he threw the boy to the floor, kicking him in the ribs, before leaving.

After dealing with Yugi, most of his problem had gone away. He just popped a sour candy into his mouth and let the bitter taste do the rest of the work. Restlessly, he tried to fall asleep again, slightly unwilling as he knew that his erotic dreams would be coming back. He eventually managed it. However, his dreams weren't about loving his hikari anymore. Instead, they were filled with nightmare's, where Yugi was tortured, murdered, poisoned, killed, raped, even executed with his severed head being brought to him. All twined with the horrible memories of the Orichalcos. The grating sound of the alarm clock woke him up. Yami was trembling even worse now, and when he raised his hand to his face again, he found his cheeks soaked in tears.

-

Over the next several weeks, Yami began keeping a loose eye on his old charge. He got up earlier, allowing Yugi to eat while he was on the way to school. He beat up the people who picked on Yugi, telling them to stop unless they wanted their hearts torn out. He felt a small satisfaction in helping Yugi get better. The dreams were going down now, now that he knew Yugi was safe. That however, was soon going to change.

-

Yugi walked heavily down the streets. It had been at least a month since he had told Atemu about his gender preferation. It had taken those few seconds to ruin every scrap of bond that they had ever had. Atemu was disgusted by him, he wouldn't even look at him without pure rage consuming his being. Yugi was so wrapped up in his thoughts, that he didn't realize when he had turned and run into the red light district. But when he did, he stiffened and immediately began walking the other way. He wasn't quick enough though, and realized this when he was grabbed from behind and drug into one of the many dark alleys.

"Stop! Let me go!" Yugi shouted. A dark, gravelly voice chuckled.

"I don't think so pretty." He said. Yugi winced. His voice grated on his ears, damaged by cigarettes and booze, both of which he could smell very clearly on his breath.

"Please let go." The man chuckled again.

"No pretty. I don't think I'll ever let you go. Not yet at least." He forced his pale frame up against the brick wall, snaking his hand up his shirt, before going southward.

Yugi knew what was going to happen, and though he kicked and screamed, there was nothing he could do. /Yami! Yami help! Atemu!/ It was no use. The spirit had blocked his side of the link, so he couldn't hear the desperate pleas of the young boy. The man roughly unbuttoned his shirt forcing it down to his elbows, before feeling the soft skin. He ran his hands cruelly over chest. He took out a knife and cut his belt, shoving his pants down. A calloused hand came down and began fondling him. Yugi whimpered. The fingers were rough and hard, grating against his skin like sand paper, leaving it sore and tender. The man soon grew impatient and threw him to the ground, pulling out a pair of handcuffs. Yugi stared at them in horror. No, it was already bad enough getting raped, but it was going to be a cop who did it? His clothes were removed and his hands shoved behind his back, cuffed around a heavy metal pole on the ground. The cop opened his own pants to let through his own self, before plunging in with relish. Yugi screamed, he screamed and screamed and cried for his Yami, but he never came, nor did anyone else and the man continued to pound him into the dirt.

The dirt where he belonged.

-

After the man, who had told him his name was Ryan, was done, he was uncuffed and allowed to go home. To Yugi's mortification, he was not given his clothes back, only told to go home. Ashamed and disgusted with himself, Yugi let him keep his clothes and ran away, keeping to the filthy alleyways to avoid being seen.

'_Filth. That's what I am now, dirty trash. Atemu has every right to hate me. I'm disgusting, not fit to wander this earth.' _He made it home and tearfully, joyfully, he raced up to his window and crawled through. He hastily put some clothes on, ones that covered his entire form. and rubbed his arms. He wanted to step into the shower and try to rid himself of the filth that covered his body. But right now, he was too scared to even remove one article that he had put on. Weeping bitterly, Yugi curled up in the center of his bed and cried. He looked to his nightstand, and realized the answer to his problems. For the first time in a long time, Yugi smiled. He knew exactly what to do. What would make his Ji-chan free from extra work, that would relieve his friends of the burdon of friendship, and most of all, would make Atemu happy. Silently getting up, Yugi creeped down the stairs and pulled out a large, sharp, meat knife, built to cut through flesh. Yugi smiled again, this time a little insanely.

Yes. All his problems

-

Yami was nervous. The dreams had come back tonight, only worse and much more vivid, most of them dealing with his darling little Yugi getting raped. Yami shook his head. Darling? Little?! What was wrong with him?! He shouldn't be thinking like that! He was straight….Wasn't he? Yami shook his head again.

'_Of course I am.'_ He thought. _'What else could I be?'_

"_Yugi's.''_ His mind whispered back. Yami felt his resolve weaken considerably. He shook his head yet again.

'_It wouldn't work out.'_ He thought. _'What about children?'_

"_You'd manage''_ The voice responded. _"Can't you adopt children nowadays?''_Yami hesitantly nodded.

'_I suppose so.'_ He said.

"_Plus, what about him himself eh? Small, petite, graceful. Everything you could ever want in a woman, only better.''_ Yami reluctantly agreed. _"And I bet those lungs of his could get loud, screaming one's name over and over…"_

"Okay! I get it!" Yami growled. "I like Yugi." He said lowly, hoping that other people would hear, because he wasn't going to repeat himself twice. But instead of feeling frustrated, he felt like a weight lifted off of his shoulders. He stood up, butterflies began swirling around in his stomach. He stopped in front of Yugi's door, knocking.

"Yugi? May I come in?" There was no response. Yami frowned. "C'mon Yugi, this isn't funny. He knocked harder, thinking about different ways to knock it down, when it swung in by its own. Yami gasped. Yugi laid on the floor, a massive puddleof blood building upon the floor, his wrists bled freely, spilling the crimson river across his arms. He raced over, turninghim over to look intohis face.

"Yugi, what…what…What?"The young boy smiled, it tore his heart in half. That smile was so broken and sad, and yet, it still managed to hold every bit of gentle grace and beauty. He shook his head slowly. "No…Don't die. You can't….You can't die…Let me heal you! Please! I can heal you Yugi!" The boy shook his head, eyes so dilated he doubted the boy could see.

"No….I-I want to…." Tears began falling down his face.

"But why?" The young boy closed his eyes gently, before opening them again.

"Something's been taken, I'm no longer as innocent as I seem." Yami's own eyes widened. 'It can't be….' He clenched his fists.

"Who did it?" He growled. "I swear to Ra, I'll kill them." Yugi smiled, pure happiness and joy radiating off of him.

"Thank you…." Yami blinked.

"For what?" He asked. Yugi giggled softly, which turned into a vicious cough, blood leaking out of his lips.

"For caring." A bit of fear worked its way into his eyes, but didn't stay long in the hopelessness and depression. "A-Atemu….still….love…you." The light's eyes rolled into the back of his head, and he died. Yami sobbed, holding the body close.

"No…..no please…Come back Yugi. Come back!!" He frantically began pouring his life into the body, trying to get the frail heart to beat again. The deep slashes to his wrists healed in an instant, skin sealing over with not so much as a scar. Yami paused several times to listen for a heartbeat and catch his breath. His limbs began to shake as more and more as his energy was drained. Finally, he collapsed sobbing into the corpses chest. He nuzzled against the cold skin, tears running down his face. His stroked the boy's hair softly, gently picking up the knife he had used to drain his life away. "Yugi……forgive me. I'm so sorry I didn't see it sooner." He set the steel blade on his breast, leaning down and giving a soft kiss to those silky smooth lips. "I love you too." With that he plunged the knife deep into his heart, ending his life.

-

Yugi sighed, looking out at the beautiful landscape below him. Even though he had taken his own life, the gods had decided to let him pass on into paradise. He looked wistfully up at the sky. The giant expanse was the perfect shade of blue, bright and vibrant like the sun was at noon, yet as cool and gentle as a summer evening. He swung his legs back and forth, bare feet touching the cool stone of the cliff he was on.

"Yugi!" He blinked. Who was that? He had only been here for a few minutes, no one should know his name. He turned around and gasped. There was Yam-Atemu, standing just inside the golden gates of heaven. Yugi stared at him with wide eyes. How did he get here? Unless….. His thoughts were stopped when he saw the spirit approaching him. Yugi backed up, not wanting to be hit by the other. A strong hand came out and grabbed his arm. He looked up fearfully to see, to his surprise, that Atemu was scared. "Please, don't leave me again." Yugi looked up into those tearful crimson eyes, honestly confused.

"Atemu what…?" Atemu gripped his hand, putting it on his chest. Yugi felt a small scar under his fingers, a momento of how he had died.

"Call me Yami little one." Hope began to flutter in his chest. Did this mean…? Wonderfully soft lips that tasted like honey and rum descended on his own. The kiss wasn't big, no fireworks or moonlit passion, just sweet, chaste, and soft. Yami smiled down at him. "I love you too." Then, the yami broke down in his arms, babbling apologies and begging for forgiveness. The tears quickly soaked the pristine white robe that he had been wearing when he woke up. Yugi held his dark softly, smiling and stroking his hair, murmuring gentle acceptances and heartwarming words. Eventually the other calmed down and smiled at him. Yugi smiled back and giggled. An evil glint got into the others eye and Yugi squeaked, trying to get away. Yami scooped him up into his arms and raced off into the woods. Yugi just stayed still in his arms, breathing in the spicy, exotic scent that surrounded his dark. This is what he wanted. And he hoped it would stay this way for eternity.

End

I know it's sad, but I was in the mood for some angst


	3. Yugi Edition

Chapter 3: Hikari: Owner's guide and Maintenance Manual, Yugi Edition.

This is inspired, and based off of Lizeth's "Yami: Owner's guide and Maintenance Manual" It's actually pretty funny. I suggest that you read it. To Lizeth: I'm sorry if it feels like I'm copying your work. But the guide was so funny, I couldn't resist making my own! ;p! THIS IS NOT PLAGURIZING! I HAVE REFERENCED WHO I GOT THE STORY FROM! THAT MEANS IT'S NOT PLAGURIZING! Just incase.

*****CONGRADGULATIONS!!******

You are now the proud owner of a hikari unit YUGI edition, which you have, undoubtably, purchased for his cuteness, innocence, and general happiness. Here are a few starter tips to ensure that your hikari is happy, healthy, and…well, cute! ^^

**TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS:**

Name:_ Yugi Muto (Last name can be spelled any variety of ways you want.) You can also call him "Darling", "Sweet heart", "Chibi Ichi", or "Runt". However, if you currently have a YAMI unit purchased by Inverted Pyramids Inc. This last one is not recommended, as you will quickly find yourself somewhere rather unpleasant. The shadow realm for starters._

Orientation:_ Innocent and Naïve_

Alignment:_ Light_

Manufacturers:_ Hikari's-R'-Us co., Domino city, Japan_

Date of Production:_ Undisclosed_

Coloring:_ White, Red, Gold, Black, and Purple (Any accessories will do fine, though it is advised to get either gold, silver, or black leather)  
_

Height:_ 5'2"(Hair included)_

Weight:_ 41 kg._

Length:_ Somewhat proportionate to his height. Not very though._

**INSTALLATION:  
**

To make sure your Hikari stays in tact, it is recommended to buy a YAMI unit_._ The manual for the YAMI's are not included, and you will have to read it when it arrives with your YAMI unit. Or look it up on the internet under the name "Lizeth". Hikari's, for all their joy, are natural bully magnets, especially the YUGI edition. Place an order form for a YAMI right away. In the meantime, keep close to your Hikari and wait for one of the three different YAMI's to arrive. Depending on the type of hikari you have purchased, it is recommended to get one of these three units.

YUGI: Buy a YAMI

RYOU: Buy a BAKURA

MARIK: Buy an ISHTAR(Special note: This is the only Hikari that doesn't need a YAMI unit to protect itself, as he is already slightly insane to begin with. Trust me, we don't need too many ISHTAR's running around.)

These household items are recommended:

Large buckets of candy(At least 3. The little guy eats through them fast)

A roomful of every game you can get your hands on

Several magazines

a pair of sunglasses

_**WARNING! THIS PART IS DIRECTLY COPIED FROM LIZETH'S STORY!!!!**_

When you have received you YAMI unit follow these procedures:

1) Open that little package you've received labelled "fragile". Don't worry. There hasn't been a mistake. Your YAMI has merely been compressed to travel-size for your convenience.

2) Inside, there will be a golden pyramid puzzle. Have your Yugi pick it up and put it on, either using a leather band or an industrial-strength steel chain.

3) Note: If you open your package to find puzzle _pieces_ instead of a full pyramid... someone wasn't paying attention to the "fragile" stickers plastered all over your package. Make a mental note to sue the logistics company, then give the pieces over to your YUGI. He will be ecstatic. Pull out those magazines and settle down to wait.

4) In the instance of (3), don't fret, your YUGI is an old hand at puzzles and will have the gaudy piece of tat solved in anywhere from 10 minutes to 10 years. In the meantime, you might want to send out a GRAMPA SUGOROKU unit to get him a little golden box (sold at any local Tombs'R'Us) to keep the pieces in.

5) Once your YUGI has successfully donned the completed puzzle, pull out those sunglasses and enjoy the light show. Your YAMI will magically appear right before your eyes.

THIS IS THE END OF THE COPIED PIECE! I'M SORRY LIZETH!!!

Your Hikari: Yugi edition comes with a few accessories:

1 ton of hair gel(he will probably borrow from the YAMI unit to make it last longer)

1 white button up shirt complete with a neat blue school uniform

1 leather dog collar

1 custom dueling deck designed to match your YAMI model

A Kuriboh plushie(Unlike with the YAMI model, it's okay to point it out. Just don't start making connections between the kuriboh and his own. You'll find your YAMI looking a lot like a manga version. Scary.)

**FUNCTION SETTINGS**

Like the other YAMI models, your Hikari can be set to do a wide range of tasks.

DUELIST

Come on, who didn't see that one coming? Though a little more unsure of himself than the YAMI model, the YUGI edition Hikari is very, very good at games. Set him against any opponent, and he's sure to win with smile and an eager invitation to play again.

GAME SHOP ASSISTANT

The YUGI models are very helpful and will try to complete any task you ask of them to the best of their abilities. Even when the YUGI model's short height hinders him, he just comes up with a solution around it.

PROBLEM SOLVER

As said before, the YUGI models have a very sophisticated, if not scary, thought process. They can come up with ways to solve problems that would take you hours to think of, and are usually better. It's a good idea to use him as a diplomat between squabbling friends, especially with those big chibi eyes they have.

CONFIDENCE BOOSTER

Much like the YAMI unit, the YUGI unit is good at boosting your confidence with his complete and utter faith and trust in you. Back this up with a YAMI, and you just might feel like you could take over the world._( This course of action is not recommended, as your YAMI will almost immediately turn on you and make sure you're somewhere very remote and isolated, where you can't harm anyone. Again, the shadow realm is a very nice reference point.)_

**COMPATIBILITY WITH OTHER UNITS**

Your YUGI unit is compatible with everyone. However, there are some units that are not compatible with him. Here is a list to make sure that you don't have a mad YAMI running around, lusting for revenge.

YAMI-Anything from friendly to yaoi, your YAMI and YUGI units will always run smoothly together. It is advised to keep these two together, as the YAMI unit is extremely dependent on the YUGI unit. However, if the YAMI unit is lost first, it is advised to keep an eye on your HIKARI: YUGI edition while you place an order for another one, as the YUGI unit can get extremely depressed and even suicidal without the dark. This happens very rarely though. Still, if you ever lose your YAMI model, quickly make friends to keep you YUGI unit occupied while you wait.

TEA-anything from friendly to intimate, your TEA unit can be a source of admiration or annoyance. Please keep this particular unit in line, or else you will start to have large amounts of anonymous hate mail and restraining orders show up at your door.

RYOU-A distant to close friend that can sometimes make a sweet couple. Be careful. Where there's RYOU, there's also a BAKURA model nearby. Make sure that your YAMI and BAKURA model don't meet, as this often ends in bloodshed.

JOUNOUCHI- A very close friend that will take good care of your YUGI unit if you lose your YAMI model

HONDA-A closer, but still more distant relationship than YAMI'S and the other friends.

SETO-Usually animosity, though most of this is directed at the YAMI. Be careful around this model, as it's attitudes are prone to be some of the most diverse and violent.

PEGASUS-INCOMPATIBLE!!! This is mainly due to the YAMI model, as PEGASUS likes to use YUGI to manipulate the spirit to his will. However, if you keep YAMI and anything related to him out of sight, you'll find that they'll be decent to each other.

ISHIZU-Friendly, if a bit of an annoyance at her vagueness

MALIK-Considered a loose to close friend as long as he doesn't have a rod

ISHTAR-SEVERELY INCOMPATIBLE!!! Nothing more needs to be said. Don't let the two near each other.

MAI-Casual friendship, can be looked at from anything ranging from distant to sister-like. Her determination and forthrightness make her noteworthy.

SHADI-Considered an annoyance, but is tolerated

**Q&A**

**Q: **When I got my YUGI unit, he didn't understand a word I was saying! He kept speaking Japanese!

**A:** Relax. It was just a minor shipping error. Just buy some English language games and your YUGI unit should be fluent in the next few weeks.

**Q:** My YUGI unit keeps on staring out into space, as if listening to another voice. What should I do?

**A:** It seems as though your YUGI unit somehow came with a preordered YAMI. Don't worry about him staring off into space. He is, in fact, listening and conversing with another person. If you really want your YUGI to stop this, go to the local fan fiction author and for a cheap, two reviews, they'll separate the two.

**Q:** Something's wrong with my YUGI unit. It's Tan, Black, Red, Gold, and Purple. What do I do?

**A:** OO….NOTHING! You just got an ultra rare HEBA unit! There's only fifty or so on the market! This unit is more compatible with Pharaoh YAMI models, and can be a range of things from a prince to slave(Wink wink)

**Q: **I want Yugi and Bakura to 'get along' better. How would I go about that?

**A: **(Raised eyebrow) You seriously want that? YAMI might get awfully jealous. Well, as Lizeth states, throwing them in a closet always works. But you might want to give a little incentive. Such as shiny objects and a candy bar. This relationship usually doesn't last long though. BAKURA units are much more compatible with their own Hikari's.

**Q: **Help! I lent my YUGI to a friend, and he came back a girl! What do I do?

**A:** Just like with the YAMI models, don't lend your hikari out to other people. Just take her to a local fan fiction author and they'll make the switch in no time. Once he's home again, keep him away from household chores and stick him with a JOUNOCHI model, and maybe a special video or two. Your YUGI will be fully male again in no time.

**Q:** I tried to do the edit myself, but Yugi came out looking like a bishonen (Beautiful boy, often seen in girl manga's). And now, for some reason, he always blushes when he sees my YAMI, and the spirit in question is exceptionally moody. How do I fix this?

**A:** 00…..You tried to do the switch yourself? You brave soul. Be grateful your YUGI didn't come out with extra body parts. To get your Yugi unit back to normal, take him to a _fan fiction _author and they'll make the proper aesthetic changes. However, the cost will be rather high, about five to ten reviews per edit. So be ready to start writing once you get there. As for the blushing and moodiness, it just means your YAMI and YUGI models are a little closer now. Put them alone together for awhile, preferably somewhere dark, and both problems will resolve themselves.

ONCE AGAIN!! THIS IS HEAVILY BASED OFF OF LIZETH'S "YAMI: OWNERS GUIDE AND MAINTANENCE MANUAL" THIS IDEA DOES NOT BELONG TO ME AT ALL! Well, except for doing it with hikari's instead of Yami's. That's it for now folks! ^^


	4. A Princely Slave

This next several set of chapters are actually story ideas. I get swamped with so many that I start one and get another withing a few days. And the plot doesn't flow consistintly. This is an idea I've had for a while. It's where Atemu gets....well. I'll let you find out.

.

.

A Princely Slave

Chapter 1: Exploration and Capture

"Sound the alarms! The prince is missing!" A clamor of bells and horns rang through the hot courtyard as guards rushed about to find the royal bloodline. Green palms swayed in the wind, as if quietly worrying about the young prince; but to another, it sounded like quiet laughter at their worry. For in the top of one of their canopies, a dark form watched the goings on. The figure shook his head in disappointment as the sound of hooves filled the air as guards went into the city.

'Fools' He thought. 'They don't even realize I never leave the palace walls.' The form yawned and stretched his arms above his head. Bronzed skin flashed briefly in the sunlight before the appendage snapped back into the foliage and looked for signs that anyone had noticed. Not even the birds looked up from the places where they fed. He let out a sigh of relief. The boy in question was Atemu, the prince the whole kingdom was in an uproar about. 'Really I don't see why they do this. I'm eighteen. I can look after myself.' He looked about and smirked. All the guards who had been dispatched to the town were gone, which meant that the courtyard he was currently in was deserted. After checking to make sure no one was there he carefully stood and jumped into the next palm. It seemed to rustle with indignity as he landed in its leafy crown. Atemu sent his apology before leaping into another, and then another. All the while making sure he stayed in the shade so no one saw his silhouette or his distinguishing features. And they were very remarkable. His skin was like most Egyptians; tanned a deep bronze like the spears the royal guards carried. But his hair was spiked and three different colors. Ebony black with crimson tips and edging with bolts of blonde that looked like the lightning that would play through the rare clouds that graced their land. Several golden bangs framed his face like their own crown. But what really set him apart were his eyes. His eyes were a deep, burning crimson. A mix of fire and blood hardened into priceless gems that glittered with knowledge and power. Atemu was very proud of his appearance. It helped him fufill his duties as a prince in helping his father, but sometimes he wished he looked just a little more normal so that he could be a little less recognizable.

Atemu was interrupted from this train of thought when he got to his bedroom window. He looked around and cursed. Several guards patrolled in front of the window and most likely in the corridors of the palace as well. 'Shit.' He thought. 'They've gotten smarter.' He did notice however, that no one was watching the leafy canopies of the palm trees. He grinned. 'But not smart enough.' He jumped into a tree closer to his window and looked back. One of the guards looked up. He was young, probably not much older than himself. He gazed at the sky for a while before a superior called to him. He glanced around but went back to his duties. Atemu sighed in relief. That man almost figured him out. Luckily he was good at making his leaps and landings softer than would be expected. If anyone did hear him they just thought it was a bird. After one more look at the guards he leaped through the window and landed on the ground. Atemu rubbed his head and stood up.

Because of his frequent escapes and for safety reasons, his bed was not directly by the window. However he was able to convince his servants to put soft cushions in front of the opening. This was extremely handy as it kept his head from splitting open whenever he dove in like this. He groaned and pulled himself off of the floor and to his wardrobe, looking for a particular item of clothing that always managed to escape him. Now where was it? Not there. Not there. Whoa! How did this get in here?! He pinched the undergarments of a lady between his fingers and threw it into the bin that held all clothing like that. He never had it washed since if he did it would raise questions. And that was the last thing Atemu needed. He began looking again. Not here. Not there. Damn! Where was it?! It hadn't been THAT long since he had used it! His hand brushed across dark, smooth fabric. Was that….? He paused and felt it again before pulling it out. Yes! Here it was! …….Mana hadn't been sneaking into his room trying to 'organize' it had she? Her idea of organizing was throwing things around the room just to see what it looked like. Heck! She even tried to throw the bed against the door with magic once! Atemu chuckled when he thought about it. If he remembered correctly Mahad had confined her to her room for a month. Or was it a year? He couldn't really remember. But it still made him smile. The item in question was a cloak, a black, silky smooth, full length cloak. It even had a hood that could conceal his hair. He grinned as he fastened it on. It was time to see what his kingdom really looked like.

It was midday. Ra was directly ahead in the sky, casting his harsh gaze upon all below him. Not many people were out now, almost everyone had retreated back into their houses for the hottest part of the day. But that did not mean that the streets were deserted. Atemu looked around in amazement. Was this really what the kingdom looked like? It was more colorful than any of the murals within the palace. Strange new scents and sounds plagued his senses, making his fingers tingle in excitement. Open markets lined the dirt road. Jewelers sat next to fishmongers, calling out to unsuspecting victims, always leaving them with a lighter purse. Anything and everything caught his eye. More than ever Atemu wished that he had been born in a lower caste. All of the sights, the sounds, the smells, it overwhelmed him. He wanted to stay here and never go back to the palace. Yet he knew that he had to return, and he cursed himself for it. Finally exhausted from his hours of wandering, Atemu sat down in an abandoned stall to clear his head. The heat……..it was overwhelming. He had felt Ra's harsh gaze in the palace, yet for some reason it had always seemed………gentler, more distant, as if his father's gaze was diverted from him. He had thought it was because he was pharaoh, or royal blood. Now he thought it was just the palace and the comfort he had lived in.

A light rumbling jerked him out of his thoughts. He looked around to see the creature that had made that strange noise. He saw nothing. Atemu's insides clenched and he curled a hand around his stomach. What was this? Some sort of magic? The light rumbling sounded again and he realized it was coming from him. Atemu was now a little panicked. What was going on?! Was he turning into some sort of monster?! His stomach made that odd noise again and he put a hand over it. He closed his eyes and tried to think. He remembered that the slaves of the palace would often make that noise, yet they never turned into monsters. Usually when that noise came the slaves were fed. Mmmmm…….food. His mouth watered. He hadn't noticed how hungry he was. Wait a minute! That was it! He was hungry!(A/N: Duh!) Atemu looked around. Where did you get food in a place like this? He spotted a man selling ripe oranges and couldn't stop a speck of drool from falling. He was so hungry. He needed something to eat. He would go over there and ask that man for some oranges. When he explained that he was pharaoh, they would surely be free. Yes. That would work.

"Stop thief!" Atemu ran into a back alleyway, oranges flying from his arms. Okay. That idea hadn't been one of his best as he was running from his own guards now. Still, he would have had to run from them anyway. Atemu shifted the few remaining oranges more securely into his arms. If he was running he might as well run with food.

"In here!" A low voice whispered. Without thinking, Atemu took the offer and darted inside. He clutched the fruit tightly to his chest as he listened to the fading footfalls of the guards running away. After several minutes he finally relaxed, dropping his precious cargo to the ground as he panted for breath.

"T….T…..Thank you." He managed to gasp out as his lungs greedily sucked in air. His rescuer chuckled darkly. Atemu looked up in confusion. A tall man with short white hair and a scar over his right eye stood in front of him. He wore a black robe with a hood that was currently behind his broad shoulders. Atemu felt nervous and started to back up, regretting coming into this house.

"I wouldn't be thanking us just yet." Someone grabbed his shoulders and yanked his arms behind his back. Atemu struggled and tried to reach behind himself to grab the man. His wrist was twisted painfully and Atemu screamed as it nearly broke. A gag was forced into his mouth to stifle his cries for help. Atemu bucked his head in an attempt to throw the man off. All that happened was he knocked his head against a hard plate of armor and fell into unconsciousness.

"Let me go Anubis take you! My father will make sure that you all pay dearly for this! Release me from these bonds immediately! By order of the….."

"Ra, won't he shut up?!" Bakura complained, covering his ears in a desperate attempt to block out the threats coming from the young prince tied up on the other side of the fire.

"I told you we should have killed him." Marik grumbled. The shouts and threats on their life had long ago lost their amusement and now they just wanted him to shut up.

"Hey! He said 'make sure he's out of the way'. Not 'kill him'. If there's any profit to be made I sure as hell am going to make it!" Bakura snapped. Marik sighed.

"I know! I know! But damn, it might be better to just kill him and get some peace and quiet!" Bakura did not respond. He was just as pissed about the unending curses that left the brats mouth, but the buyers would be here soon and he would be off their hands. They sat in complete silence for a few seconds before Bakura jerked and looked around.

There was _complete_ silence. Had that annoying brat finally shut his trap and given up on threats? He looked over at the young prince to see his face in an expression of naked wonder and awe. Bakura blinked few times before the sound of wings flapping in the cool night air reached him. He smirked and got up from his position by the fire and turned around to face his customers.

Three people stood just out of the fire lights reach, their faces hidden by the shadows of the night. On each of their backs were a pair of wings that were tucked neatly to their sides so that they wouldn't get caught on anything. Bakura bowed deeply.

"Greetings master Avar. I have the boy like I said." The man grunted and strode forward.

"I can see that. But he better of as fine quality as you say he is or the king will not be pleased." The man stepped into the firelight and headed for the prince. Atemu stared at him, his mind in complete and total shock. The man was mostly human, with arms, legs, a head, and torso. But there were other things that made it clear he was not normal. While he had a head and face, instead of a nose, mouth and chin the man had a large beak like a raptor. His hands and feet only had three fingers including his thumb and had sharp talons made for ripping and tearing prey. He was dressed in a uniform that looked a bit like a guards, with the fabric being bright red with a silver emblem of a sword between a pair of wings. The shoulder pads of his armor gleamed in the flickering light, giving him an imposing look. Atemu unconsciously shied away from him. The man bent down and examined his face, opening his mouth with his claws and looking at his teeth. He felt the muscle in his arms and observed his overall build. Satisfied with his inspection he got up and went back over to Bakura.

"Well? Are you going to buy or not?" The bird man looked him in the eye for a moment before nodding.

"He is in perfect health and is not much bigger than the prince. He should be perfect. For once you did a good job." Bakura sneered at the insult but kept his tongue in check. If he threw a retort now they wouldn't take him. Avar took out a pouch of gold coins and handed a substantial amount to him. Bakura pocketed the coins and backed away. The two bird men that accompanied Avar came forward and grabbed Atemu under his arms and hauled him up.

"….The hell! WHAT THE FUCK IS GOING ON HERE?! LET ME GO! LET ME GO!!!!! WHY THE HELL DO YOU HAVE WINGS?! WHAT ARE YOU DOING WITH ME? LET ME GO!!!!!!" Bakura rubbed his temples as the shouts of the prince came back ten fold.

"Sorry about him. We've tried to shut him up but he just kept shouting. He was only quiet when you appeared." Avar nodded and snapped his fingers. The two bird men holding the prince raised their hands, which had been balled into fists, and brought them slamming down onto his head. The prince gasped and was out quicker than a torch doused in water. Avar turned to the two men.

"Take him to the palace and have him cleaned up. Put him in a private chamber and keep him there until the party. I will inform the king that we have the prince's present." The two men nodded and hauled him between them, positioning him so that he wouldn't get in the way of their wings. With a flurry of feathers the two shot up through the night sky towards the distant mountains and their kingdom.

Atemu woke up to the feeling of being washed. His crimson eyes opened blearily before he closed them. A warm washcloth ran down his chest and he sighed, unconsciously leaning into the touch. A series of giggles made him open his eyes a little more. That didn't sound like his maids…so what…….. He sat up a little straighter and peered around him. He gasped. He was in a bathing room yes. There were maids cleaning him yes. But this wasn't his bathing room, nor were these his bathing maids. He appeared to be in a foreign bathing room with several girls dressed in nice, but worn clothes washing him. What startled him though, was the fact that they weren't completely human. All of them had some form of short, sleek fur or scales on their arms and bodies.

The events of the night before came crashing down on him and he shot out of the water. The maidens laid him back down in the water and washed his chest to soothe him. Atemu wouldn't be calmed so easily though and tried to leave again. One of the maidens came behind and gripped his shoulders, forcing him back into the water and pinning him down. Atemu tried to get out, but the girl was much stronger than he thought and his efforts just ended up sloshing water onto the floor. He soon gave up and let the women wash him. The girl holding his shoulders relaxed, but did not let go. She grabbed a bottle of oil and began massaging his shoulders. Atemu, against his better judgement, relaxed into the treatment and closed his eyes.

"Where am I?" He asked in a whisper. The girls squealed and giggled even more, a few of them whispering between themselves. The one massaging his shoulders began talking in a light voice.

"You're in the slave's bathing room for the palace. You have to be prepared for your duties." Atemu blinked in confusion.

"……Duties? ……Am I serving someone?" The servant nodded absentmindedly.

"You're to be a present for Prince Yugi. And a higher honor couldn't be offered. He's such a gentle soul. I would love to be his personal slave." At the word 'slave' Atemu shot out of the water fully and went over to the other side of the room. "Come back. We're not done yet." Atemu glared at them and grabbed a towel which he fixed around his waist.

"Like hell I am! I am not some slave to be sold or given as a present!" He spat the last word out like it was venom. The one who had massaged his shoulders raised her eyebrow. It was obvious she was the leader of the women. She wore a faded brown dress that went down to her ankles. A long slit went up to her thigh, showing the sleek brown fur that rippled over her legs up to her waistline. Her hair was clipped short, just below her chin. Her crystal blue colored eyes stared into his own crimson orbs. After a moment she sighed.

"Look. I don't know who you were before you came here and personally I don't care. The point is that you are _here_ in our kingdom. Your former caste doesn't matter." She walked over to him and grabbed his arm. "Now we were given orders to clean you up and we will do that to the best of our extent. Come back and finish the bath." Atemu laid back down in the water and closed his eyes. This wasn't good. He had a feeling that since he was a prince, he could probably be taken back to his kingdom, but he could also be locked up and put to death. Even though being a slave was humiliating, he needed to be alive. He was the only heir to the Egyptian throne. He needed to stay alive for his people, that way he could escape. Yes. He would escape.

Ra help anyone who got in his way.


	5. Dragon Joust

Okay. Now this one is actually an adaptation from a book that I read. It's called "Joust" by Mercedes Lackey. In the original book there's a boy named Vetch. He's a serf who is spirited away to the enemy capital and takes care of dragon's, he eventually escapes on his own dragon and goes toward his native country. There are three sequels to this book. Alta, Sanctuary, and Aerie. They're really good, and so I decided to give them a yugioh twist. Later on in, say, the second book, I'll be changing more in order bring in the shadow magic and stuff. Even now there are a few pieces that I've added. I hope you like this.

Dragon Joust

Chapter 1: Introduction

The hot wind out of the desert withered everything in his path-including anyone so foolish as to be out in the sun at midday. It carried reddish dust and sand on its wings, and used both to scour what it could not wither.

It did not howl, for it had no need to howl and rage for its power to be felt. It only needed to be what it was: relentless, inescapable, implacable, and ceaseless. This was the dry season, the season when the wind called Khamseen was king. It swept out of the sea of sand, bearing with it the furnace heat that drove man and beast into shelter if they were wise, and sucked the moisture and life out of everything. The earth was baked as hard as bricks, as hot beneath a bare foot as the inside of an oven. Add to that the hammer of the sun, which joined with the Khamseen in a conspiracy to dry up all life; nothing moved during the Khamseen at midday, not even slaves.

Yami hunched his shoulders against the pitiless glare of the sun above him, and licked lips gone dry and cracked in the heat, as dry and cracked as the earth under his feet. The walls of his master's compound offered some protection from the wind, but none from the sun. To his left, the back wall of tan and mud brick around Khefti-the Fat's workshop and house cast no shade at all on the path upon which he trudged. To his right, lower walls of the same material surrounded his master's tala field.

Calling it a "field," however, was something of an exaggeration. It could not have held more than five hundred tala plants, a single green oasis in the sand and baked earth, all of them heavy with unripe berries. It was here, only a few steps from the village where Khefti had his workshop, for two reasons. The first was that tala had to be irrigated during the dry season if it was to bear any amount of fruit at all. The second was that Khefti would never have let anything as valuable as a tala plant grow where he could not put his eye upon it on a regular basis. Yami was fairly certain that Khefti counted the berries themselves twice daily. Fortunately, the husbandry of the precious tala was not his concern, for Khefti would never have entrusted anything so important to a serf. HE was not even allowed to set foot inside the enclosure.

Yami kept his head bent down as he heaved his heavy leather water bucket along. His arms and shoulders ached and burned with fatigue, and his stomach with hunger; his crimson eyes stung with the sweat that dripped and the dust that blew into them, his mouth was dry, full Khamseen grit, yet he dared not to take a mouthful of the water in his bucket or use it to wash the sand from his eyes. That water was for the tala plants, not to quench the burning thirst of a mere serf.

He kept his sharp lidded eyes fastened on the hard packed, sandy clay of the path under his dirty, bare feet. This was not because he was afraid to look up, and possible incur the wrath of any freeborn Alkheman dweller who might happen by for showing "insolence." He was watching for a particular little spot on the path that led from Khefti-the-Fat's well inside his compound, to the cistern that irrigated his tala field. This spot was marked only by the fact that the soil there was a slightly different color than the rest.

He wanted so badly to put the bucket down; the rope handle cut into his hands cruelly, rubbing the skin raw, slowly soaking the fibers with his blood, he was very careful to keep it from getting into the water. Khefti would surely punish him for that. The only thing that kept him going, was knowing that spot was there, marked by the dirt he'd dug up and replaced last night.

_Ah._ There it was. He fastened his gaze on it, and labored toward it, trying not to pant as he exerted himself to get there as soon as possible, it would only dry his mouth further.

Other than his slightly quickened pace, Yami made no outward sign that he had noted the place, for the last thing he wanted was for someone to think there was anything unusual about the spot. Yami grunted and gave up trying to quicken his pace. The water bucket that had been tossed at him by his master this morning was unwieldy, and quite full. If he wasn't careful, most of what was in it would slosh out before he got to the cistern.

The bucket was for too big and heavy when full for someone as small as he was to carry easily. Not that he had a choice. Serfs made do with what they were given, and kept silent about any complaints they might have in the presence of their masters, or they suffered whatever consequences the master chose to mete out. A man might hesitate to scar a slave who had cost him money to buy, and might earn him more money when sold. He would have no such compunctions about a serf, who only cost him money in the housing and feeding, who could not be sold unless the land to which the serf was attached to was sold also. How many times had Khefti told Yami that? _"You're of cursed little use to me alive insect!"_ He would say. _"Your death would mean nothing except that I need not waste my bread in the mouth of one so useless as you!"_ He sometimes wondered why Khefti kept him alive at all, except that Khefti-the-Fat was so grasping that he never willingly let go of _anything_ he owned, no matter how useless or worn out it was. Every scrap, every bone, even the ashes from his fires were used until there was nothing left. So that was probably it; Khefti was determined to use Yami up, as he did everything else. There were laws regarding the treatment of slaves. There were no such laws protecting serfs, for serfs were Imeten dwellers, and the enemy: spoils of war, prisoners of war.

Even when they were little boys.

And in Yami's case, _very_ little boys indeed.

He had never been big, but now he hardly seemed to grow anymore, on the poor fare that Khefti-the-Fat allotted him. A weedy little boy he was, with matted black hair, dim shining brown strands in front of his face, named after the darkness that even demons were afraid of, uncontrollable by mortals, and therefore useless. And never mind that it was an Imeten custom to name their boy children unpleasant names of things that were either useless or they were afraid of themselves to mislead night-walking ghosts into thinking they were worthless or to keep them away so they wouldn't snatch them up in the darkness. "Yami" he was on the Alkheman inventory rolls, and "Yami" he would now remain for as long as he lived, and properly named, too, according to Khefti-the-Fat.

"_What have done to earn your bread?"_ the master would say, his fat belly shaking with rage, his pendulous jowls trembling, as he delivered another blow to a back already scarred. _"You steal from me, you are a thief, who takes my food and gives me nothing in return!"_ This was usually right after Yami had attempted and failed at some task, and Khefti was beating him to teach him to do better. Yami repressed a shudder. There were others ways of punishment as well, ones Yami did his best to forget. They were usually deep in the night when no one could hear them. Then Khefti would use him as a release that he could never get from women, even the paid ones. He would usually limp through his chores the next day, failing at his chores, and earning another night of torture. Yami wrenched his mind from these thoughts, before he got too distracted.

Incidentally, these were, often as not, some sort of chore that _should_ have been given to a man, or at least, a larger boy-but that was never an excuse for failure, and took not so much as a single stripe from Yami's chastisement.

_Teach with the rod, for stripes improve memory,_ said one proverb, _A boy's ears are on his back, he hears better when beaten_ ran another. These were Khefti's mottoes, and he lived by them. He even beat his apprentices just as much as the law and their parents permitted, though them, he dared not starve. But he saved the heaviest punishments for Yami.

Yami deviated from the center of the path just a little, and shortened his steps so that he was able to come down-hard-on the off-color spot.

_Upon Khefti-the-Fat, every misfortune will fall. My sandal to grind his head into the dust,_ he chanted to himself, just as he had chanted over the finger-long abshati figure he'd made out of river clay yesterday in the image of his master. _My foot to break his back. Thorns of the acacia to pierce his belly, and the food to turn to thistle in his mouth._ Cursing a master was a thing absolutely forbidden; if he were caught doing so, any beating he'd had beforehand would seem as nothing. He knew that, but if he could not curse Khefti, there would be nothing in his life worth getting up for in the morning.

Not that he any real faith that his curses would come to pass. Khefti-the-Fat had too many charms hung about his person and his house for the curses of one small serf boy to fly past them and strike home. But it was something to curse the master, a small blow, if only a symbolic one, something more than merely enduring. And there was always the chance that Yami would, by sheer dint of repetition, or the chance that he contrived a curse that Khefti _didn't_ have charm against, get some small crumb of discomfort to plague his master past all the protections.

That one small hope was really all that Yami had, and it was what he lived for.

Yesterday, when Khefti had gone to sleep for his afternoon nap without assigning Yami a task to follow filling the cistern, Yami had seized the opportunity to run down to the river and dig raw lotus roots to hide under his pallet to eat later. He would probably need it too, as Khefti always gave him time to rest during the day before he would call for him in the night. Now, in the dry season, the Nile had sunk down from his bountiful robe, to the skinniest of messenger boys, but a rather languid and lazy one when he thought of it. The lotus was easier to reach, the roots now buried in the mud flats rather than waist-deep in the river water, and the crocodiles disinclined to pursue potential prey over the mud flats when so many fish were stranded in ever shallower pools left behind by the receding Nile river. While the lotus had been in bloom, the glorious blue flowers rising on their waving stems above the surface of the river, Yami had mentally noted every patch, so he knew where even the smallest and least accessible clumps were. He had to; he was in competition with every other hungry mouth in the village. Perhaps none were as starved as he, but unlike onions and barley, the roots were free for the digging, and all it took was a stick and determination to get them.

In digging up the roots, he had come across a generous lump of nearly pure clay, of the sort that Khefti would have been very pleased to see. To Yami, it had been a treasure as fine as the roots he carried home, for any time that Yami got his hands on clay, he would make an abshati figures, for he heard the instructions bellowed in the ears of Khefti's apprentices, day in, day out. The making of such figures was usually for funerary purposes, not cursing-there was a good living in the making of abshatis to represent the deceased or to supply the spirit with servants in the next life. A good half of Khefti's pottery income came from funerary wares, or replacing such items as went into the tomb from the household stores. Yami probably could have made abshatis as good as any of those turned out by the apprentices, had Khefti allowed him. But no one would purchase an abshati made by a serf, a Met dweller, the enemy, lest it carry some sort of subtle curse against Alkheman dwellers that would render the magic the priests would say over it ineffective.

Ordinary mud would not hold the detail he needed to make a good figure, nor would it shatter the way a well-dried statue of clay would. But although his master was a potter, there was no way for Yami to purloin _his_ clay, for he guarded it as jealously as his tala. Good clay was valuable, and a careful accounting was made for every weighable scrap of it.

This time, through some quirk of good fortune, the figure Yami had modeled was a particularly good one. The limbs were all in the right proportions, and Khefti's bulging belly, ugly frown and perpetually-creased brows just right. Perhaps it was crude and the face a bit blobby, probably because of the short amount of time he had to make it, as a slave had indeed came and told him Khefti requested his presence. But anyone who looked at it would surely recognize who it was meant to be. Yami repressed another shudder as he remembered that night.

_Yami carefully modeled the face of his abshati figure, keeping a sharp ear out for anyone walking his way. As soon as e heard footsteps, he hid the figure under his pathetically thin sheet, bunching it up just enough so that the lump looked inconspicuous, but light enough so that none of the details would be lost. A slave turned the corner and looked down at him._

"_Master Khefti orders your presence in the spare room." Yami shuddered but nodded and got up, looking at the ground. He followed the slave into Khefti's house through a side door that led directly into the desired room. Khefti was standing in the center of the room. He dismissed the slave, before glaring down at him._

"_Well, what are you waiting for? Get on the bed and strip." Yami nodded, still looking at the ground._

"_Yes master." He stepped out of the loincloth made out of rags and laid down on the bed, spreading his limbs to each corner. Khefti tossed him a critical glance, arms still crossed. Yami knew better. He knew Khefti found his young, undeveloped body incredibly appealing. He noticed it in the subtle lick of his lips._

"_Pleasure yourself." Yami glared at him, but remembering previous beatings , reached down and grabbed his length and began to pump. He moaned and threw back his head. Slowly he stroked the hardening flesh, until he could barely stand it. "Faster!" He quickened his pace biting back another moan, before crying out as Khefti hit him. "Don't hold back slut! Faster!" Yami closed his eyes and gripped himself tighter in anger as he sped up again. The result caused the pleasure to peak and he let out a muffled scream as he released. _

_Khefti didn't even give him time to recover and move his hands before he sat down on top of him. Yami gagged as the stink of Khefti reached his nostrils, like sweat with sour beer and wine. His thick length sat on his chest, staring at him. Yami eyed it with distaste, but opened his mouth. He knew what his master wanted. Khefti shoved his member in and Yami choked, before closing his eyes and beginning to suck. His master threw back his head and began groaning softly. Yami swirled his tongue around it, pressing against the weeping slit. He nipped it lightly, something Khefti liked no matter how much he denied it, and pursed his lips, pulling his head back so that his mouth slid up and down his length, putting varying degrees of pressure behind it. Khefti moaned loudly and thrusted into his mouth roughly. Yami nearly choked again when the thick, almost paste-like liquid burst into mouth, tasting like spoiled milk. He wondered if cum would go bad if males didn't release frequently enough. Yami pushed past his gag reflex and drank every drop that his master had "blessed" him with, re-stimulating him so that his cock was hard and swollen again by the time Khefti had pulled back. _

_Khefti glared down at the serf, grabbing rope off of the bedside table and tying his hands together in a ring embedded in the wall. His legs were left free as Khefti poised himself at his entrance, and shoved himself in. Yami whimpered. This was the worst part. His master was so big, and no matter how often he did this, he never got used to how his walls seemed to rip as if someone had taken a dagger and shoved it up his ass. Khefti gave him no time to adjust and began pounding into him roughly. Yami sobbed quietly as the dagger sensation struck him with each thrust. He tried to twist his hands free, but Khefti had gotten the knots tight. Yami turned his head off to the side and concentrated on counting the minutes that it took. He felt a slap to his face. "Look at me while I fuck you!" He said, voice quivering with silent rage. Yami couldn't stop a few tears from falling down his cheeks as he nodded and turned his face towards him, opening his eyes again. Normally he kept all of his emotions carefully in check. But every time Khefti did this, violated him, treated him as nothing more than a pleasure toy that he enjoyed tormenting every night, he couldn't stop the tears that would flow down his cheeks as the burning, stinging, ripping-tearing-terrible-awful - _pain_, would continue until Khefti would exhaust himself and collapse on top of him. _

_This time it took over two hours before he finally was able to release, two hours of pounding agony. Khefti had at some point during the rape, for that's what Yami considered it, tossed his legs over his shoulders, regardless to the fact that Yami had no real practice in stretching like that, and even forced a leg into a ninety degree angle so that he could get in deeper. Khefti had stayed buried in him long after, forcing him to stay on that bed and feel the huge thing up his ass get more and more painful. Khefti had finally pulled out, much to Yami's agony, and had the serf get rid of his erection that had come on as he had sat there and waited for Yami to become uncomfortable. "You may leave now. I expect you to do your duties tomorrow properly, or you'll come back here again." Yami merely nodded, picking up his loincloth and calmly walked out the door. Once it closed behind him Yami took a deep breath, then sobbed and ran all the way back to his sleeping place, weeping bitter, angry tears. But not before he removed the little clay abshati from underneath his sheet and hid it somewhere safer so that he wouldn't get smashed and he'd have to restart all over again. That done, Yami collapsed on his pallet and cried his heart out; hot, angry tears as he mused on his miserable life. If only he was dead, like father, then he could be free of this torture._

The next day he had set it up on top of the wall in a hidden corner to dry hard in the sun and the Khamseen, and when all of the work was done for the day, because it was such a good likeness, he decided that instead of merely grinding the thing under his heel while chanting his curses, he would try something different.

He had dug a hole in the path in the moonlight and put the figure in it. That way he could tread on it with every bucket hauled to and from the well, reciting the curses in his head. Maybe if he did _that_ enough, one of them would fly home and strike true. Knowing he would put his foot on his master each time he traveled the path kept him going, even in this heat.

The dust that flew up in puff from under his bare foot as he planted it on the burial spot was nearly the same no-color as his foot itself, coated with dried clay and dust as it was. All the better; cursing was earth-magic, and maybe this time the links would be strong enough to make the curse stick. Yami had tried, and more than once, to get something of his master's person to put into the figurines he made. But Khefti was a coward, always afraid of magic and curses, and was so careful of such things that he never pared his nails without counting all the bits before burning them, and even made his barber burn the hair he'd scraped off the master's misshapen head before Khefti would leave the shop. He also made Yami clean every drop of semen from him and his entrance before he could leave. Well, Khefti was not well-beloved among his neighbors, so perhaps he was right to be so concerned.

Yami reluctantly took his heel from the spot where the figure lay buried, and heaved the bucket, and heaved the bucket forward another steps, subtly flicking a drop of blood from his hands onto a dry part of the rope. His arms ached so much, and his legs were so wobbly from exhaustion that it was all he could do to keep from dropping to his knees in the dust, but he dared not set the bucket down for an actual rest. At any moment, Khefti might awaken from his nap and look out to see if Yami was working.

Every morning and every afternoon, as long as the Khamseen blew, he filled the drip-cistern that fed the fragile pottery pipes that in turn watered his Alkheman master's tala plants. The only source of water for the cistern was the Nile or the master's well, and neither was easier than the other to get water from.

If he fetched water from the well, it meant pulling up the water one bucket at a time, bringing the rope, hand over hand, with the bucket feeling as if it was getting heavier all the time. And the well was (of course) nearly as far from the cistern as the river, though in the opposite direction. The river was marginally farther away, though he would not have to drag the weighty bucket up its rope. But the clear water from the well wouldn't clog the pipes the way that muddy water from the river would, unless Yami was very careful when he filled the bucket. Being "very careful" meant wading out into the river, up to his knees-which put him in the way of the crocodiles, who would not turn down prey that came so obligingly within their reach.

Yami hated this bucket, too heavy, too big, too awkward, and if he'd dared, he'd have put a hole in the bottom of it. But if he did, Khefti would probably find something worse for him to use-bigger and heavier, or so small as to be nearly useless. Not to mention the nighttime punishment he would receive.

Tala could only be grown during the dry season, after the Nile had shrunk to a shadow of his wet-season greatness. It only set its berries after the sun-baked fields of wheat and barley were harvested and reduced to bleached stubble and the earth beneath the stubble was riddled with cracks as wide as a man's hand. But tala fruits were worth their weight in electrum, for tala fruits gave the Jousters their ability to control their great dragons.

Dragon…dragons and tala were inseparable. The only reason to grow the tala was because of the dragons, the creatures that were the greatest weapons that the Alkheman's had. Yami had only ever seen the dragons at a far distance, overhead, flying out from the city of Memphis a little up the river, gold and scarlet, blue and green against the hard, bright blue sky. They would have been beautiful, if they were not so terrible.

Dragons-well in part, they were responsible for his being a serf. The war would not have gone so badly for Imet if the Alkheman's hadn't had so many more dragons and Jousters. He supposed, dully, that he should be cursing them, too-but he could only focus his hate on one target at a time, and at the moment, that target was Khefti. ``

Yami stumbled over a clod and trod down hard on a stone, saving the bucket from going over at the last moment, but causing a little drop of blood to fall into the water. "Night-demons take you!" he cursed the clod and stone alike, looking about frantically for his master. Luckily, he had not come out and seen it. And one drop of blood should not make a difference. Yami thought, resentfully, that if Khefti were to allow him the clothing of a slave, he would have straw sandals, and he would be saved from stone bruises, saved the burning heat that came up through his hardened soles. Khefti's paths were like Khefti's heart, hard and uncaring. What could it _possibly_ cost to permit his one serf a simple pair of sandals?

That was moment when a revelation, and a sickening one, came to him. And he realized that one of his errors in cursing Khefti might have been in the _phrasing_ of the first part of the curse. He had specifically said _my _sandal to _grind his head into the dust._ But Yami wasn't wearing any sandals, didn't own sandals (not even the cheapest, woven-straw kind) and likely never would own sandals. Granted, that was the way that the magician Yami had spied on had phrased _his_ curse for his customer, but the customer _had_ worn sandals.

Yami ground his teeth in frustration, and jerked at the rope handle of the bucket. Well, he would continue the cursing for the entire three days, but _how_ could he have overlooked something so simple?

Better he should have cursed the tala fields-

But that would be a dangerous thing to do as well as an audacious one, potentially more dangerous than cursing his master. Granted, the mud-brick wall held the little shrines to every god that could be invoked, and plenty of talismans for growth and plenty, which should have prevented any harm whatsoever from coming to the fields, but if Khefti even _thought_ that Yami was cursing the fields, his stick, as well as his groin, would be out and drumming a beat in Yami for days.

Besides, Yami wanted to hurt Khefti directly, not indirectly. And anyway, as the son of a farmer, someone who loved and served the land, something within Yami shrank from wishing harm even on a tiny plot of tala plants.

Yami's master's was not a farmer; he was a potter and the master of a brick yard. Nevertheless, he made a great deal of money from his little tala field; his workshops were for his daily bread, but his tala bought him little luxuries that his neighbors envied. A harvest like this one would bring more than enough to pay for a rock-carved tomb in the Valley of Artisans, a tomb he could not otherwise afforded, and for which his apprentices were making a veritable army of abshati servants and pottery funerary wares fit for a man far above Khefti's station. It also paid for a manner of luxuries: fine linen kilts, many jars of good date wine every day, melons, honey cakes, and roast duck on his table on a regular basis. Khefti even had a melon cooling in his well at the moment, a true luxury in the dry season.

_Oh melon…_

Just the thought of a melon made Yami's stomach cry out with hunger. He hadn't even tasted a melon _rind_ in an age. Khefti thriftily had his cook pickle the rinds from his melons, in keeping with parsimonious nature.

And that thought led down the well-worn path of food. Good bread and beer, melon and dates and pomegranate, honey and fish; all the things that Yami had not tasted since he became a serf. For that matter, he had not had _enough_ to fill his belly since the last of the great Temple Festivals at the beginning of the growing season, and that was only because it was the Temple of Hamun that provided the bounty. The raw lotus roots Yami had eaten this morning (in addition to his allotted stale loaf end) had helped with the never-ending hunger, but nothing would ever make it stop altogether.

From the moment Yami had entered Khefti's service, he was _always_ hungry; as the savory aromas from Khefti's kitchen tantalized his nose, he would be making a scanty meal of whatever Khefti allotted him. Breakfast, a palm-sized loaf of yesterdays dark barely bread, or supper, a tiny bowl of pottage_ his_ family wouldn't have fed to a pig and another loaf of stale bread. Sometimes the fare was varied by the addition of an onion beginning to go bad. Lunch was whatever he could find, in the hour when Khefti slept- a handful of wild lettuce, lotus roots grubbed out of the riverbank and eaten raw, wild onions so strong they made the eyes water. Sometimes he found wild duck eggs in season; sometimes there were berries or palm fruits, or dates fallen to the ground. Mostly, he got only what Khefti gave him. He hadn't seen cheese or meat or honey cakes since the farm was taken. He dreamed about food all the time, and there was never a moment when his stomach wasn't empty. He went to sleep, curled around his hunger, and woke with it gnawing at his spine.

The only thing that ever really competed with the hunger was anger.

And anger was as constant companion as hunger. Not that he could _do_ anything about his anger, but at least when he was angry, sometimes he'd get so worked up that he'd upset his stomach, and then the hunger would go away for awhile.

And when he was really angry, he could make the loneliness and the pain and the fear recede for a little. When he was angry, he wasn't on the verge of the tears that often threatened to overwhelm him. Sometimes, anger was the only defense he had- when the village boys plagued him and threw stones at him, when Khefti beat him. He couldn't strike back, but at least he could keep from weeping, giving them the satisfaction of knowing that they hurt him. Crying would make him into a greater target for torment than he already was tears were a given sign of weakness he couldn't afford.

But he was truly the most miserable of boys, and sometimes he thought that anger was the only possession he had that could not be taken from him.

And anger was, perhaps, the only thing that kept him alive, in the midst of a life hardly worth living.

He slept on a pile of reeds he had cut himself, under the same awning that sheltered the wood for the bread oven from the rain, in the outer back court, beyond the kitchen court. His clothing was a loin wrap of whatever rags were deemed unsuitable even for household use, and only when it was little more than a collection of holes held together by dirt and threads like spiders' silk was it ever replaced. Thus Khefti gave lip service to the provision of "food and shelter" for his serf. Under Khefti, Yami had nothing that was not scant, except for anger and hunger.

Well, one thing more, perhaps. He had hatred.

He hated Khefti with a despairing, dull hatred that was as constant as the anger and hunger and was surpassed only by the fear that Khefti inspired.

His stomach growled again, and grated painfully. Sweat prickled Yami's scalp, and a drop of sweat trickled down his temple, down his face, and down his neck, leaving behind a trail of mud in the dust that coated him. But the hot, dry wind swiftly dried it before he could free a hand to wipe it away, adding one more itch to all of the insect bites and healing scratches he was always plagued with. His stomach pressed urgently against his backbone, and he was tired, so tired-even that anger that never left him was not enough to overcome how tired he was.

What had _he_ done that the gods should treat him so?

How was it fair, that Khefti claimed him and could work him like a mangy donkey because he had bought the house and a thin strip of the land that had once belonged to Yami's father? How was it right, that the Alkheman thieves had taken the farm that had been Yami's home from those who had lived and worked it for generations? What justified what had been done to Yami's family, to a man who had not so much as raised a hand in self-defense against the Alkheman's?

Anger lived in his belly, waking and sleeping, but it was an impotent anger with nowhere to go. And at times like this, it was a weary anger that had worn itself out on the unyielding stone of his life.

A few steps more, and he made it to the side of the above-ground stone cistern. With a sigh of relief, he eased the bucket to the ground, and went up the two steps that allowed a little fellow like him to reach the cistern lid. He slid the wooden cover aside, pausing for just a second to savor the momentary breath of cool damp that escaped, then groped behind him for the bucket handle, ready to haul it up again.

It wasn't there.

The anger in him roused, and gave him a flare of energy. Yami whirled, expecting to find that one of the Alkheman boys who apprenticed with his master had tilted the bucket on its side, allowing it to spill its precious burden into the thirsty, hard-packed ground, or worse, had stolen the bucket-which would force him to go to Khefti, who would beat him for losing it. Then he would have to fill the cistern with whatever Khefti gave him, crippled by a back aching and raw.

Someone had taken the bucket, all right, but it wasn't an apprentice.

Behind him, a tall, muscular Alkheman- a warrior, by his build, and one of the elite Jousters, by the heavy linen kilt, the wide brown leather belt, and the empty leather lance socket hanging from it-held the heavy bucket to his lips, gulping down the master's well water with the fervor of one who was perishing of thirst. Yami stared at him, the surge of anger he'd felt at having his bucket stolen by yet another Alkheman overcome with sheer astonishment at seeing one of the Jousters _here_. He had never seen a Jouster so close before, not even an Imeten Jouster.

When there was a Jouster, could his dragon be far away? Yami looked wildly about. Then a snort made him look _up_, to the roof of the pottery-drying shed inside Khefti's walls.

And there was the great dragon itself, looking down at him with an aloof gaze remarkably like that of one of the pampered cats that swarmed the Temple of Bastet.

Yami gaped; the dragon was a thing of multicolored, jeweled beauty, slim and supple, and quite as large as the shed it perched upon. A narrow, golden, large-eyed head oddly reminiscent of a well-bred horse's, with the same slim muzzle, dished nose, and broad forehead was surmounted by a bony crest that shaded from deep gold to pale electrum, as pale and translucent as the finest alabaster. That elegant golden head rose on a long, flexible neck that shaded from sapphire blue to coral pink. The wings, of pink to a violet purple edged in gold, rising from muscular shoulders twice the bulk of the hindquarters, were spread to catch the sun. The long, whip like tail, which reversed the shading of the neck, going from pink to blue, was curled around the cruel electrum talons of the forefeet, as the dragon lounged comfortably on the flat roof of the shed, the sapphire blue underbelly only just visible under the raised head. The eyes, though, they were was what caught you and held you-slit pupiled and the deep blue of the finest cuts of lapis lazuli--

Not that Yami had ever seen the finest lapis lazuli, or any lapis lazuli, or any other gems. But that was what people said, and certainly the colors sported by this beast were every bit as gorgeous as the magnificent wall paintings in even the poorest Alkheman temples depicting the jewels worn by gods and kings.

Such beauty-it was hard to look at the dragon and remember that he should hate it.

The Jouster finished his drink and dumped the rest of the bucket of water over his head without even bothering to take off his helmet, and the anger awoke again, at the wanton wastage of what had taken Yami so long to haul. Yami made an involuntary whimper of suppressed rage in the back of his throat as the man tossed the bucket aside, as if it was something of no account, to be discarded. Which meant, of course, that if Khefti came out at this moment and saw him without the bucket in his hands-

Now anger turned to panic. Yami scrambled after the bucket just as his master, the _last_ creature he wanted to see at this moment appeared in the door of his courtyard. Khefti was huge and terrifying; his size alone was intimidating, for he must have weighed twice as much as this Jouster. His gut bulged over his dingy, grease-stained linen kilt, his fat hands were quick with a blow, and his doughy face wore a perpetual scowl beneath his striped headdress.

He could not have chosen a worse moment to wake up from his nap and come a-prowling—exactly as Yami had feared.

Khefti-the-Fat was the worst master Yami had ever had, for though most of them had regarded their serfs as of less importance than a donkey, none had been cruel. Yami was the only one of his family left with Khefti; the Alkheman who had originally taken control of their land along with that of their neighbors, had sold it in turn, who in his turn broke it up into smaller portions and sold them. Each time it was sold, Yami's family got a new set of masters, but at least they had been allowed to remain together, working the earth still—for the owners had all agreed that it would be in their best interest to farm it communally, using the combined labor of Yami and his family, which after all, cost nothing. This went on for several years, until at last, came the purchasers that included Khefti. Khefti had specifically brought the house itself, and the family vegetable garden. And Khefti was not inclined to farm he land communally with the others, as every other owner had been; in fact, he was not inclined to farm at all. He wished to enlarge his fortunes by becoming an absentee landlord.

This had resulted in the actual dispersal of all of the remaining members of Yami's family—his three sisters, mother, and grandmother. Khefti kept only Yami. What happened to the rest of them, Yami had no idea, Khefti had taken him to his own house in this village on the outskirts of Memphis, and had rented out Yami's home and its tiny garden to yet another Alkheman. _Taken_ was perhaps too mild a word; Yami had been dragged away from his family, literally kicking and screaming, as the girls were led weeping by their new masters. Grandmother had given him a last look that told Yami she knew that she would never see him again, then shuffled off after her new master, head bowed, with every fiber of her registering defeat. The last Vetch saw of his mother was a final glimpse of her collapsing to the earth. Then Khefti had begun beating him to make him stop screaming, which was the last thing Yami remembered before waking up to a bucket of water poured on his head and being tied to the back of Khefti's cart to follow along as he could.

Why Khefti had kept Yami at all, the boy had no idea. Perhaps it had only been for the sake of the records; certainly a man with the look of a tax collector came every so often and Yami was trotted out for his inspection. Perhaps in order to hold any land, you had to have at least one of the serfs that came with it.

If that was true—then what would happen when he and his family were all dead? Yami didn't know that either. He didn't really want to think about the alternative—that his sisters and his mother would become "breeding stock," producing a bloodline linked to the property, to allow the new owners to hold it, giving them more hands to work it...

But why Khefti had decided to keep Yami, rather than one of the girls or Yami's mother—that was something only Khefti knew. Not that Yami would have wanted to see his sisters or mother or grandmother under Khefti's untender care. No, better it was him, not them.

Better that Khefti hadn't gotten the idea to perpetuate the bloodline…

Best of all that the need to keep a serf ended when the serf was dead. And perhaps that was why Khefti had kept Yami; smallest of the lot, cheapest to keep, and likely the quickest to die of ill treatment. Too bad for Khefti, Yami was tougher than he looked; he was never sick, no matter what trash Khefti fed him.

Yami had never thought he would ever envy the lot of a slave, but he had learned better, under Khefti. For slaves, there was always the possibility of freedom; a master might free them at his death, or a slave might earn his freedom in some way. Not so for a serf; they were tied to the land, from birth to death, and tied to the master that owned the land. As property that could be bought and sold readily, slaves were as valuable as any other livestock. Not so for serfs; they came with the land, and one could not sell them without selling the land. Khefti could never realize a profit by having Yami trained to some skill or great strength and selling him at a profit.

Khefti had no reason to do more than keep Yami alive, and work him as hard as possible. Yami would never be worth more to him than he was at this moment. And from the look on Khefti's face as he glared at a Yami who was not at this moment working, his value had just dropped again.

Khefti had not seen the Jouster; he certainly hadn't seen the dragon. All he saw was Yami, standing on the steps of the cistern with empty hands and no bucket in sight.

With an inarticulate roar, Khefti snatched up the little that never left his side and descended on Yami. For all his bulk, Khefti-the-fat moved surprisingly fast; Yami only had time enough to crouch down and cover his head with his hands when the quirt descended on his shoulders, leaving a stripe of fire across his back that made him gasp with pain.

_Once. Twice._ Yami squeezed his eyes shut, ducked his head further, stuffed both hands in his mouth and bit his knuckles, strangling his cries with his hands. Khefti never delivered fewer than a dozen blows even at the best of times, but sooner or later he_ had_ to see the Jouster, and then he would stop, if only to gape in shock. If Yami could just hold on without fainting until his master realized they were not alone-

But the third blow never came. Yami risked a glance backward over his shoulder, and saw, with astonishment, that the Jouster had caught the wrist of Khefti's whip hand and was holding it effortlessly at shoulder height. Never quick-witted, Khefti's expression was frozen between the moment of rage when his hand had been caught, and the dawning realization of just _who_ and what had stopped him from beating his property.

The Jouster's helmet concealed most of his face. Yami could not see enough to read his expression. But why had he stopped Khefti from striking?

"The boy is not at fault." The Jouster said, in a mild voice. "I took his bucket to quench my thirst. He could hardly take it away from me."

Yami's mouth dropped open with astonishment so great that the pain of his two stripes seemed to fade. The _most_ he had hoped for was that Khefti would be too embarrassed to beat him in front of the Jouster, which would give Yami a chance to explain himself. He had hardly thought the Jouster would take his part!

Khefti went red-faced and spluttering, but what could he say? Nothing of course; the Jousters were a kind of nobility, and certainly outranked a mere tala farmer, potter, and brick maker. Nor would he dare do anything further to Yami while the Jouster had so forcibly expressed his disapproval.

Once he was gone, however, he would certainly extract a double dose of punishment out of Yami, for having looked a fool in front of a Jouster. Unless—

Unless the Jouster continued to speak with his master. Then, perhaps Yami could slip away, get the bucket, and go back to his task again while Khefti was talking to the Jouster. If Khefti saw that Yami had run back to his appointed labors at the very first moment possible, he might feel the beating he'd already given Yami was enough. Yami kept one eye on them both, and eased one foot down the stair.

The dragon snorted again, and the Jouster looked up at it, then down at Khefti. "From the look of things," He continued, in that same mild voice, "You've been abusing and neglecting the _Great King's_ property, and not yours? Or is it possible you had forgotten that little detail?"

Khefti went from red to white, all the blood draining from his skin until he looked like an enormous damp, white grub.

The Jouster turned his gaze from Khefti to Yami. "I need a boy." He said casually, as if it were no great importance to him. "And if you're getting _any_ amount of work from one that starved, he must be remarkable. I'll have him."

Khefti's jaw dropped. "But!" He protested. "But—but—"

"_As you know_, a Jouster can requisition any of the Great King's property within reason, if it is to serve him and his dragon." The Jouster shrugged. "One small boy—three quarters starved—is certainly within reason. You will speak to the King's assessor when he comes to see if the King will permit you to continue holding the land to which the boy was tied. Or, of course, you could see if there is some other member of his family available—but if there is, I suggest that you treat the new acquisition better than this one. The assessor's eye will certainly be on you now."

He let go of Khefti's wrist, and Khefti dropped to the ground, to lie there like a quivering, misshapen, unbaked loaf. "But—" Khefti burbled. "B-b-b-but—" The Jouster ignored him. Instead, he looked up at his dragon again, which uncoiled itself and stepped carefully down into the yard. The roof of the drying shed creaked as the dragon removed its weight from the structure. The dragon stretched a wing lazily out to its fullest extent, then pulled it in, and yawned. It moved up beside the Jouster jus as a faithful dog would come to heel, then bent its forequarters so that its shoulders were even with the Jousters chest. The Jouster grabbed the back of Yami's loincloth as if he were a parcel, and heaved him over the dragon's shoulder.

The band of his loincloth cut painfully into his stomach, though Yami more than half expected it to give way and tear. Yami landed stomach down on the dragon's neck, but the Jouster had not thrown him hard, and his breath was not driven out of him. He'd landed on a sort of carry pad of stuffed leather in front of the Jouster's saddle, and he clung to it like a lizard on a ceiling as the Jouster leaped into the saddle itself.

Then the dragon tensed itself all over, stretched its wings wide, and with a leap and a tremendous beat of those wings, it took to the sky with a frightening lurch. The sudden upward movement pressed Yami into the carry pad, and he felt the Jouster seize the band of his loincloth again, and for the second time in his life, _fear_ replaced every other sensation; the fear the he was falling, falling!

But he fought back the fear, and he clung to the pad. A second wing beat drove them higher—through a storm of dust kicked up by the wind of the wings, Yami watched Khefti's striped canvas awnings over the woodpile, the kitchen court, and the summer pavilion on the roof go ripping loose and flying off. Below them, Khefti lifted his arms to the sky and began to howl like a jackal.

A third wing beat, a third tremendous gust, and half the thatch of the drying shed tore loose as well, and the furnishings from the rooftop tumbled over the edge into the street. Fashionable light wickerwork chairs and tables, palm frond mats and pillows stuffed with duck- and goosedown came off the roof like a shower of gifts from a generous noble; passerby scrambled after the bounty and carried off everything they could seize. Khefti was not well-beloved …he could count on never seeing so much as a stray feather again. His howls were mingled with curses and entreaties to the gods—who, with luck, were deaf to his pleas.

And the last of Yami's fear evaporated in half-mad glee at the sight.

A fourth wing beat, and Yami could no longer see the house of his former master, only hear his thin wailing from below as he lamented his losses and called upon the gods to witness his ruin.

The ground whirled away as the dragon wheeled, the fear returned, redoubled, and Yami closed his eyes and hung on with all his might.

He had no illusions that this was rescue; he had merely traded one master for another. But this one, at least, had chided Khefti for starving and mistreating him. So perhaps this master would be better than Khefti

At least he would be different.

At least, life would be different.

And to that thought, he clung, as he clung to the saddle pad, and with much of the same desperation.


	6. The Shadows of Notre Dame

This one is very obviously a spinoff of "The Hunchback of Notre Dame". Feel free to give comments on what you think of all of these stories. I haven't posted the official stories because I wanted to complete the stories I already have started, but no inspiration has struck me in quite a while and I thought I'd give you something while I try and come up with more ideas and dredge up the will to write and post them. Oh! And squeeze in the time. I have four Pre-AP Classes and two AP Classes. Only one class is regular. I have a really tight schedule.

The Shadows of Notre Dame

It was a bright sunny day. The bells of Notre Dame were ringing, singling the beginning of the day. The city of Paris was just beginning to wake. The fisherman and baker were setting up their stores. And in the center of the square, was a brightly colored caravan. Little children had begun to gather around. Inside was a man with dark skin and surprisingly light blonde hair. A black mask covered his forehead and eyes. He wore a gold pair of pants with a lavender vest with a long sleeved gold shirt. He wore black shoes with gold and lavender embroidery. Malik sighed wistfully.

"Listen, they're beautiful no? All the different colors and sounds; but they don't ring all by themselves." An identical, taller, and slightly more insane man popped up next to him, making the children jump, then giggle.

"They don't?" This man said, incredulous. He was dressed exactly like Malik, only he had lavender pants, a gold vest, and a lavender shirt with a black mask and shoes with lavender and gold embroidery. They giggled even more. The first man rolled his eyes.

"No, of course not! High, high in the bell tower! Lives the mysterious bell ringer! Who is this creature?"

"Who?" The second man asked, popping up on the other side of the first one. The first one turned around and looked at him, surprised.

"What is he?"

"What?" The second man said, popping back up where he had been first. The man turned around again, a look of faint annoyance on his face.

"How did he get there?"

"How?" The second man said, popping up behind him, resting his chin in his hair. The children laughed. The first one looked up with anger.

"Marik!" He shouted. Marik slipped down.

"Whoops! Bye boys and girls!" And he disappeared again. The first man sighed.

"Listen. Malik will tell you. Tell you a tale, a tale of a man, and a monster." The setting changed to a night many years ago. A boat filled with five people was slipping under the bridges. _"It was a dark night, when we begin our tale, near the docks by Notre Dame."_ A baby cried loudly into the night. A man with a strong chin and pitch black hair, with a gold hoop earring glared at the woman holding it. "Can't you get it to be quiet?!" He whispered angrily.

"We'll be caught!" The second hissed. The woman glanced down at her baby.

"Hush little one!" The boat pulled up to a set of stairs.

"_Dark was the night, when the gypsies slipped in, at the docks near Notre Dame."_

"Payment for passage into Paris." The boatman said, holding out his hand. An arrow shot into his pole.

"_A trap had been laid for the gypsies under the docks of Notre Dame! And they gazed up in fear in alarm! At a figure whose clutches were as feared as the bells of Notre Dame!" _The first man gazed up in terror.

"Judges Dartz and Pegasus!" He shouted. Two figures rode up on large black horses. Dartz was tall and had teal green hair and yellow eyes. The Pegasus wasn't as tall, but his figure was lanky and gave the impression of extra height. He had long silver hair and icy brown eyes that gazed down in disdain at everything beneath him.

"_Judges Dartz and Pegasus longed to purge the world of wrong and sin."_

"Well, well, well. What do we have here Pegasus?" Dartz asked.

"A couple of heathens trying to get into the city no doubt!" Pegasus said.

"_And they saw corruption everywhere, except within."_ Dartz sniffed.

"It doesn't matter. Bring these gypsy vermin to the palace of justice."

"You there! What do you have in your arms?!" One of the soldiers shouted, grabbing the woman. The baby was still wailing loudly. Pegasus snorted.

"Stolen goods no doubt. Take them away from her!" He ordered.

"NO!" The woman cried.

"_She ran!"_ Marik said. The woman broke free of the soldiers grip and ran off, baby in her arms.

"After her!" Dartz shouted, spurring his own horse into pursuit. Pegasus followed quickly behind. The woman glanced over her shoulder in fear, seeing Dartz's horse loom over her. Taking a chance she went down an alley and jumped over a railing onto a street just below. The horse reared and stopped as the space was too narrow for pursuit. Pegasus stopped by him for a moment.

"What should we do?" He asked.

"Go around the way we came, I'll go the other direction. We'll trap her lie a rat." Pegasus grinned insanely and kicked his horse.

"Hya!" The horse reared and galloped off. Dartz smirked and raced off in the direction he said he would go. The woman didn't notice and raced up the steps of Notre Dame, banging on the door.

"Please! Open the doors and grant us Sanctuary!" When the doors didn't open, she raced to a different door, trying that one. When she saw Dartz coming she tried to run away, only to stop when she saw Pegasus coming from the opposite direction. She gazed at the two and tried to run, but Dartz grabbed the bundle in her arms and caused her to lose her balance, cracking her head on the steps. The baby started crying again.

"A baby?" Dartz asked. Pegasus nudged his horse forward to look at it. Dartz pulled back the cloth covering its face and his own contorted in disgust. "A monster!" Pegasus took the baby from him and held it over the well.

"We'll send this abomination back to hell." The baby just continued to cry.

"'_Stop!' Cried the Archdeacon!"_ Malik said, gazing at all of the little faces that were enraptured in his tale.

"This is an unholy demon, we're sending it back to hell!" Pegasus cried. Dartz merely gazed at the old man critically. The old man merely knelt down to the dead woman and cradled her in his arms. The man gazed up at them, old plum eyes filled with sadness.

"See the innocent blood you have spilt on the steps of Notre Dame."

"We are guiltless. She ran, we pursued." Dartz commented, gazing down at the old man, daring him to continue. The Archdeacon didn't pay it any heed and said:

"Now you will add this child's death to your conscience on the steps of Notre Dame!"

"Our consciences are clear." Pegasus said.

"You can lie to yourselves and your minions. You can claim that you had a qualm. But you can never run from or hide what you've done from the eyes! The very eyes of Notre Dame!" Dartz and Pegasus looked about at all the statues looking down and began to shifting nervously.

"_And for one time in their lives of power and control!"_ Malik sang. _"Pegasus and Dartz feared or their immortal souls!"_

"What must we do?" Pegasus asked. The Archdeacon picked up the woman to carry her inside.

"Care for the child, as if it were your own." Dartz looked down in disgust at the thing in Pegasus's arms.

"What? You want us to take care of this…" He gritted his teeth and grunted. "Very well, but let him live here in your church." The Archdeacon blinked in surprise.

"Live here? But where?"

"Anywhere." Dartz snarled. "Somewhere where no one will find him."

"The bell tower perhaps." Pegasus suggested. "And who knows? Our lord works in mysterious ways, and even this foul creature may eventually prove to be of some use." Dartz snorted, as if he doubted it. Malik stepped in as the scene melted back to the square.

"And Pegasus and Dartz gave him a cruel name, Yami. The Heathen name for darkness." Malik stepped back to show a shadow puppet. It showed Dartz carrying a baby up tower steps with Pegasus behind. "Now here is a riddle for you to solve, sing the bells of Notre Dame!" On the next flight it showed a tiny boy with small lumps on his back following Dartz and Pegasus up the steps, then a boy with flimsy wings going up the next flight by himself. "Who is the Monster, and Who is the man? Sing the bells, bells, Bells, Bells! BELLS! BELLS! BELLS OF NOTRE DAME!" The last one showed a young man with sleek bird wings pulling the rope to a bell, which switched to the actual young man pulling a rope that rang multiple bells in the tower, wings acting as a counterweight and keeping him steady as he rang. Yami leaped down, spreading his wings to slow his descent, bouncing off of ringing bells to keep them going, finally landing on the ground. Gracefully he stood up and walked towards the balcony, pigeons flying off as he went. As he got closer the light illuminated his face, showing that he had a strange, exotic face with odd, angular, almost geometric eyes dyed blood red. His eyebrows arched over his eyes in such a way that they gave them a distinct cat-like look. His nose was very straight and was an odd triangular shape, accentuating this feline appearance. His lips were dyed a pale red. Not as deep as a woman's, but certainly much more vivid than a man's. High cheekbones were set above a strong jaw line that trailed down to a pointed, almost weak chin. Yet there was still a definite strength to it. His hair stuck up in six spikes, pitch black except for the tips, which were ruby red and blonde bangs that fell around his face and shot into his hair like lightning. He was dressed in a plain cream tunic with worn brown stockings and thin leather shoes. A hole was torn in the back of his tunic to let out two wings that were a glossy black, just like a ravens. The feathers shimmered in the light with dark green and red with a touch of black-purple. Yami leaned against the stone railing and sighed. He looked towards a gargoyle on his right.

It was lean, lanky, and would be human sized and shaped if it wasn't lying on the railing sprawled everywhere with its mouth wide open, as if it was snoring. Two slender horns sprouted from the top of his head. It had rough talons and dog-like feet. Tiny bat wings sprouted out of his back. Yami chuckled as he noticed a nest in his mouth. He leaned over and looked in. "Hello there little one." A baby pigeon woke up and looked at him, chirping his reply. "Well, is today the day? Are you gonna fly?" The little bird looked down in uncertainty. Yami smiled. "Don't worry you'll be great." The bird still looked uncertain. "Why just look at the sky! Why, if I ever picked a day fly, oh this would be it!" Yami's face fell for a moment, wings pulling in around him. The bird looked at him, then down at the ground, and gulped. Yami perked back up. "Don't worry. You'll be great! Look down there!" He said, picking the young one up gently in his hands and lowering him so that he could see clearly. "The Festival of Fools!" He gently bounced his hands as the bird began to flap its wings. "There'll be music and dancers and jugglers and dancing and….look! You're doing it!" The little bird looked down and saw that he really was flying. Chirping in delight, he flew around Yami a few times. A group of pigeons flew by. The bird looked at him eagerly, as if asking permission. Yami laughed. "Go on. No one wants to be cooped up here forever." The bird chirped happily some more, before joining a flock and heading into the sun. Yami sighed as he watched them go off. "It's too bad I can't join you." There was a grumbling and cracking as the gargoyle who had the nest in his mouth came to life, spitting out the feathers violently.

"Ptui! Ptui! Man! I thought he'd never leave. Aw I'm gonna be spittin' feathers fer a week!" Yami chuckled. The gargoyle on the other side of him rumbled as it began to move as well. It had hair that turned into a horn above his forehead. Its ears stuck out at either side of its face and were long and pointed. Wings that were so large they were a hindrance rather than a tool, came out of his back. It had long arms and legs that gave it a gangly look. The gargoyle gave the first one a reproachful look.

"That's what you get for sleeping with your mouth open nimrod."

"Who you callin' a nimrod ya chalk stone sissy?!" The first gargoyle asked, shaking his fist.

"Oh it's on now!" The second said.

"Bring it!" He shouted.

"Guys, guys, guys!" Yami said, stepping in between them. "Let's not fight. Remember the festival?" The first one immediately forgot the fight and looked down.

"Oh right! The Festival of Fools!" He said.

"It's a treat to watch the colorful pageantry of the peasantfolk." The second said.

"Nothing like balcony seats for watching the Ol' FOF!" Yami sighed, going back inside.

"Yeah. Watching." He said.

"Oh look! A mime!" The first one said. He hacked up a lugi, about to spit it down, when the second one covered his mouth. He gulped.

"Not now Joey." The gargoyle said, looking at Yami, who was walking inside. Joey sat up and looked at him as well.

"Hey hey! Aren't you gonna watch the festival with me an' Tristan?"

"No." He sighed. Both of them shrugged.

"I don't get it." Joey said.

"Maybe he's sick." Tristan said.

"Impossible. If twenty years of listening to you two hasn't made him sick by now nothing will." A feminine gargoyle limped over, Pigeons following her and settling down when she stopped moving. She had long hair that looked a lot like snakes because it was so tangled. Her arms had ragged bird wings and her fingers had wickedly sharp claws. Her legs were a lot like a birds, causing her walk to be a little awkward, as if she was limping.

"But Yami's always enjoyed watching the festival. It's the high point of every year!" The female gargoyle laughed.

"What goods watching a festival if you never get to participate?—Go on! Get off of me you bunch a buzzards!" She shouted, scaring off the pigeons for a moment, before they settled back down. She glared at them, and sighed, limping inside. "He's not made of stone like us." Yami walked up some stairs to a workshop space and leaned over it, placing his head in his hands. On it was a replication of the city and even little replicas of the people who lived nearby. The female gargoyle came over and put a hand on his shoulder. "Yami what's wrong? You wanna tell ol' Mai about it?" Yami sighed.

"I just….don't feel like watching the festival this year." He said, setting one of the little figurines on the table. Mai chuckled.

"Well, then why don't you go down and participate then?" Yami jumped and looked at her in shock, wings spreading around him and shaking with alarm.

"I can't! Dartz and Pegasus would kill me! You know that!" He sighed, wings drooping. "Besides, I wouldn't fit in. You know…Me not being….normal." He said, looking at his wings. Mai smiled.

"Yami, Yami, Yami." A pigeon landed on her nose and she glared at it. "Do you mind? I'm trying to have a conversation with the boy here!" She shouted. The pigeons flew off again. Joey reached up and picked a figurine of Yami out of the replica of Notre Dame.

"Stop beating around the bell tower. What'd we gotta do? Paint ya a fresco?"

"As your friends and guardians we insist you attend the festival." Tristan said, putting a hand on Yami's shoulder.

"Me?" Yami asked, wings perking up.

"No, the Pope. Of course you!" Joey said, stuffing one of the figurines into his mouth. Tristan pulled it back out.

"It would be a very educational potpourri of experience." Tristan said.

"Wine, Women and some!" Joey said, juggling some of the wooden figurines.

"You could identify some of the regional cheeses." Tristan said.

"Bobbin' fer snails!" Joey exclaimed, holding up a bucket full of water.

"Study indigenious folk music." Tristan said, pretending to play a guitar.

"Playin' dunk the monk!" Joey said, slamming a bucket of water over Tristan's head.

"Yami, take it from some old spectators. Life is not a spectator sport. If all you do is watch, then all you're going to do is _watch_ life go by." Mai said.

"Yeah! Yer human, with the flesh and the hair and the navel lint. We're just part of the architechture." Joey said. "Right Tristan?"

"Yet, if you chip us, will we not flake?" Tristan said, hopping forward with the bucket still on his head. "If you moisten us, do we not grow mold?" He said, glaring down at Joey before putting the bucket on his head. Joey knew perfectly well he didn't like growing mold.

"Ow!" Joey said, taking the bucket off and rubbing his head. Mai grabbed Yami's arm and started down the steps.

"Yami just grab a fresh tunic and a clean pair of hose and…" Yami stopped her from dragging him off, flapping his wings for extra leverage.

"Thank you for the encouragement. But you're all forgetting one thing."

"What? Joey asked.

"My masters: Dartz and Pegasus." He said, picking up two figurines, depicting the two mentioned people.

"Oh." Joey whispered, looking quite deflated.

"Well…when they say you can never leave….do they mean ever, ever?" Tristan asked.

"Never, ever! And they hate the Feast of Fools! Oh they would be furious if I asked to go!" He said, burying his face in his hands. Joey rubbed his hands together and got a devious smirk on his face.

"Who says you have to ask?"

"Joey!" Yami said in alarm, wings flaring again.

"Ya sneak out!" Joey said, motioning with his hands.

"Oh no, I…" He said.

"He'd never have to know." Mai said.

"But…." Yami started.

"Aaaand ya sneak back in!" Joey said.

"He'd never know." Mai inserted.

"And if I got caught!" Yami said, horrified by the mere thought, wings trembling.

"Better to ask for forgiveness than for permission." Tristan said.

"What if they saw me?" Yami said, still trembling.

"You could wear a disguise!" Joey said, putting on one of Yami's cloaks. "What Dartz and Pegasus don't know can't hurt you!" He said.

"Ignorance is bliss." Tristan said.

"Nobody wants to stay cooped up here forever." Mai said, echoing his words earlier. Yami sat up straight, wings perked up around him, as if their words had finally registered.

"You're right. I'll go!" He said, getting up.

"Yeah!" The gargoyles cheered.

"I'll get cleaned up." Yami said, another round of cheers following his words. "I'll go down those stairs!"

"Yeah!" They cheered.

"I'll go out that door and...!" He stopped as a shadow towered over him.


	7. Bastet's Child

This one got inspired by a story by A. Yami .Yugi. In it, Yugi is the adopted son of Bastet, and Seth curses him with a soul mate. THey are able to lift the curse to an extent, but now Yugi's soul is bonded to the pharoahs. I still haven't worked out how this one will work out yet.

.

.

BASTET'S CHILD

"My lady Bastet! My lady Bastet!" Bastet looked up from her weaving to see a young lioness racing towards him. She got up and came forward, patting her head to make her let go. The lioness set down a bundle of linens that were….moving? She gasped and picked it up, moving a piece of the cloth aside.

"It….It's a child!" The baby began wailing at the loud voice. "No, no, no! Shhhh…..it's okay little one. No one's going to hurt you. Shhhh……you're all right. You're all right." The cries died down to a whimper and he opened his eyes. Bastet gasped. His eyes were a bright purple, like amethyst jewels. She cooed at the color and tickled him under his chin. He giggled and squirmed in his blanket. Bastet looked over at the young lioness whom had brought him. "Where did you find him?" The lioness pointed to the south.

"From what I could see, his family was attacked by thieves. They were merchants. Both the mother and father were dead, but he was alive, hidden in the wagon. He has no family left." Bastet looked down at the baby and smiled.

"Well now he does." She traced his upper arm. "I will take him as a son. His name shall be Yugi, my little game." The place that she traced gained the eye of Ra, like a birthmark. Bastet handed the little boy to the oldest lioness in the pack. "Look after him. I will come and check up on him. Convince the pride to move to one of my old temples. It will be the perfect place to raise him." The lioness nodded and took the blanket from the cat goddess gently with her teeth, taking care not to scrape his skin. She looked to the rest of the herd and began moving. The other lionesses followed him. The males followed for a while, but eventually dropped off to make their own prides. The lionesses came to an abandoned town that had what had once been a well tended temple to Bastet. Even now some of the roof was still up, creating well shaded places to lay in. The lioness set the child down and laid on her side. She nudged him up to her belly and guided him to her nipples. The baby's hands wandered through her fur and clutched it. The lioness jolted at his tight grip. Yugi attached his lips to a nipple and began to suckle. The lioness smiled. Even though his grip was tight, it was a lot like her cubs. After he had eaten his fill he began whimpering. The lioness looked at him strangely. She nudged him with her nose. Yugi made a strange noise and began gurgling happily. The lioness smiled and put him between her paws and laid her head down next to his small form.

Bastet came a few days later. She had been talking to the gods about her choice to make Yugi a child of a god. Now, after several days of debating, not only had the other gods agreed to the small child, but they were going to bless him with their power as well. The cat goddess held the baby in her arms as the gods came forward. The first was Ra. He looked down at his pale skin and smiled. He touched the boy's forehead.

"I bless you with my protection. You will forever be shielded from my eye so that your skin may always be this same pristine white." A golden aura spread around him and Yugi giggled. His skin gained a slightly golden shimmer to it, making it sparkle. Isis came next. She looked at his hands and smiled at how small and delicate they were.

"I bless you with the gift of magic. You shall be able to cast powerful spells and gaze far into the future. This is my gift to you." A pale golden aura spread around him and his hands glowed with the pale sheen of magic. Thoth came next. He saw his eyes innocent eyes, pure and undefiled and smiled.

"I bless you with the knowledge of forgiveness and the knowledge of the Earth. You shall know all there is within the four pillars of the world. Let this keep your spirit pure and untainted." A silvery aura spread around him and his eyes gained an indigo tint, like a midnight sky. Ma'at was next. She looked into his heart and smiled.

"I bless you with the gift of the feather of truth. You shall know people better than they understand themselves. You will know them, and you shall help carry out judgement." She set the feather within his heart and pulled it out, but already, there was an impression of the feather of truth. Osiris came next. He saw his youthful face and smiled.

"I bless you with eternal youth. Whenever you want to stop aging you shall. That is my gift to you, little light."

"Oh how sweet." Everyone tensed. Seth came out of a shadow. Bastet growled at him.

"Leave Seth! You are not wanted." He put a hand over his heart.

"Not wanted? Oh, I'm heartbroken!" He smirked. "But this was for _all _the gods to give gifts to our new addition. And I have the perfect one." He placed his fingers on the boy's forehead. "I bless you with a soul mate." Everyone gasped. Bastet lost her voice. "They will be so close to you that your thoughts will intermingle and you will be willing to give up your title as a child of the gods for them. You will thank your parents everyday for him. But that's not all, for they will be." He licked his lips. "Male." The gods gasped again. In order to have a male soul mate, his own soul would have to become female. Bastet regained her voice.

"Now see here!" But it was too late. The magic was already flowing, binding his soul to another. Yugi cried as the magic changed his soul, making it female and binding it to another. The little darkness that he had was stripped from him, leaving his soul completely white. With a cackle, Seth turned and left. The cat goddess tried to soothe the child, lessening the pain of having his very nature being changed. Bastet looked at the other gods in desperation. "Please! Undo this! He does not deserve it! Most never find their destined!" Every god lowered their heads. Seth's wife, Nephtys, stepped forward.

"I won't be able to reverse this, but I can alter it slightly." She placed her fingers on his forehead. "Even though you are soul bonded, I bind your soul to the living Horus. Your soul mate shall be the Pharaoh who takes the throne at a young age. He shall look like you, and hold the darkness that you were stripped of. You will complete each other. Light and dark." She sighed. "That is all I can do. Even though he is soul bonded, he is bonded to the god on earth. He will never have to give up his position as your son." Bastet looked at her with relief.

"Thank you." She nodded and left, going to find her husband. Anubis came up with sad eyes. He touched the child's forehead gently.

"In case you die or cannot find your soul mate. I give you the power of rebirth. Your soul will be reborn until you find him." A black aura encircled him. Yugi yawned and snuggled up into Bastet's chest, wanting to sleep. Wadjet came up and smiled gently.

"I give you my protection. Wherever you are, just call my name." Amen and his wife Qetesh came next.

"We bless you with the gift of fertility. You shall be able to give your soul mate children, so that he does not have to seek another for this duty." Their combined auras twined around him and settled within his abdomen. They stroked his hair and left. Every deity came and gave him gifts. Some were material possessions, others were gifts of beauty, grace, and promises of comfort in the afterlife. At long last, only Bastet had not given her son a gift. By now her child had unearthly beauty, even as young as he was. Glossy red lips were parted in soft breaths. His hair was tri colored, with the rich black of the fertile soil of the Nile, edged in a red that was as fiery as the sunset, and bangs of pure gold that framed his face. She touched his forehead.

"My son. I bless you with the appearance of a god. You shall be able to turn into a kitten and powerful black jaguar from the strange lands to the south, so that you may protect your beloved. You will be able to run faster than any of my other children. You shall hear the eagle cry when it is high in the sky and see us in the beyond." Her own gentle blue aura flowed around him. Yugi's ears wandered up onto the top of his head, becoming black and pointed like his mothers. His hands became paw-like and gained small claws, as did his feet. His canines sharpened and he gained sleek black fur on his hands, feet, ears, and neck. Finally he sprouted a long black tail. Ra came forward and touched the mark that Bastet had given the small boy.

"We have bestowed our gifts on this child. Now he is one of us. From this moment forward he shall be known as Yugi." The mark lit up, and when it died down, it had become silver. Ra nodded at Bastet. "Now he is truly yours." Bastet bowed.

"Thank you. This means a lot to me."


	8. Heartbreak Warfare

Yami sighed as he gazed up through Yugi's skylight at the stars. They had been dating for several months when all of a sudden, Yugi had become enraged at him. He had broken up with him that day and he wouldn't even come back to the house to sleep.

_Lightning strikes  
Inside, my chest to keep me up at night  
Dream of ways  
To make you understand my pain  
_

Yami had taken to not eating, instead preferring to gaze up at the sky and try to figure out what he had said to make his little one so angry. It hurt that he wouldn't even glance at him in school. It twisted his heart to think of his hate filled glare at the board.

_Clouds of sulfur in the air  
Bombs are falling everywhere  
It's heartbreak warfare  
Once you want it to begin,  
No one really ever wins  
In heartbreak warfare_

Whenever they were in the same room you could practically taste the tension in the air. All of their friends were avoiding the two, fearful of stepping on a minefield. All the while Yami tried to understand what to do to get his little one back.__

If you want more love,  
why don't you say so?  
If you want more love,  
why don't you say so?

Did he think that Yami hadn't loved him? No, that was ridiculous. Yami had spent every available moment he had with the hikari, even when that equated to a single kiss on the forehead on his way to one of his three jobs to help support the game shop as Solomon got on in his years. Maybe he had felt neglected. But whenever Yugi felt something was wrong he had always confronted him about it. So why hadn't he said anything? Yami watched as Yugi got up to leave class as the bell rang. Yami quickly got up, not bothering to pick up his things, just trying to catch up. He tenetively put a hand on his shoulder.

"Yugi." He murmured. Yugi didn't turn around, but he did pause.

"Yami." He said, his voice tight with annoyance and anger. Yami ignored it and continued.

"Please little one. Tell me what I did wrong. I miss you….I'm confused…we were so…" Yugi jerked his shoulder out of his hold.

_Drop her name  
Push it in and twist the knife again  
Watch my face  
As I pretend to feel no pain_

"I'm sorry Yami, but I don't think Seto would like me talking to you." Yami flinched back, quickly putting a blank mask on to hide how much that name had hurt him. The day after he had broken up with him, Yugi had gotten together with Seto Kaiba, his arch rival.

_Clouds of sulfur in the air  
Bombs are falling everywhere  
It's heartbreak warfare  
Once you want it to begin,  
No one really ever wins  
In heartbreak warfare._

He hadn't dared approach the two unless he got into a confrontation with Seto and got sidetracked from his objective. Plus, the CEO practically spoiled his little one, giving him the most expensive clothes and beautiful bouquets of flowers that all bespoke of Yugi's own beauty. He had seen the young boy smile and blush as he buried his nose in sweet smelling roses.

_  
If you want more love,  
why don't you say so?  
If you want more love,  
why don't you say so? _

_Just say so...  
_

Perhaps he had neglected Yugi. Maybe it was better to leave him with Seto, who could give him everything he wanted. Yami couldn't even rub two coins together to get a single red rose for the young boy. Yami shook his head and gathered up his forgotten supplies. No, he wouldn't allow himself to think like that. He _would_ get his little one back, no matter what it took.__

How come the only way to know how high you get me  
is to see how far I fall  
God only knows how much I'd love you if you let me  
but I can't break through at all.

He followed Yugi and Seto as they walked to the CEO's limo. Seto got in and offered to give Yugi a ride. The small boy shook his head though, and walked down to the pier.

__

It's a heartbreak...

Yami saw his chance, and once Kaiba's limousine was out of sight, he raced after the young boy.

"Yugi!" He called. Yugi looked over his shoulder in surprise and for a moment he saw deep anguish and hurt in his amethyst eyes, before he turned around and ran away. "Wait! Yugi!"__

I don't care if we don't sleep at all tonight  
Let's just fix this whole thing now

Yugi stopped at the railing of the pier and turned to glare at him.

"What do you want _Atemu_?" He hissed. Yami flinched. Yugi only called him by his true name when he was truly enraged at him.

"You." He answered truthfully. "Yugi. What happened? One day we were laughing together, and the next day you wouldn't look at me. What did I do? Please tell me." Yugi clenched his teeth. His hands shook with rage.

_  
I swear to God we're gonna get it right  
If you lay your weapon down_

"What did you do" Yugi shouted. "You cheated on me! So tell me, when's the wedding? Next month? Next week? Or has it already happened and you didn't have the balls to tell me?"

_  
Red wine and ambien  
You're talking shit again, it's heartbreak warfare_

Now it was Yami's turn to be enraged and offended.

"Cheating?! Who told you that?! Yugi it was you and always you! Why would I cheat on the best thing that has happened to me in over 5,000 years?!" Yugi looked at him with uncertainty, his hands unclenching and his eyes starting to show all of his hurt and betrayal.

"But the ring….Tea said." _  
Good to know it's all a game_

Yami scoffed in disbelief.

"Tea?! What has that bitch been…." He stopped talking as he realized what had happened. He had wondered why Tea had been showing off her hand for the last few days, and why all of the students had been staring at him.

_  
Disappointment has a name, its heartbreak_

"Yugi." He sighed. He hadn't wanted to do it like this. To have his hand forced…he shook his head. No time to think about that right now. He got out a small black velvet box and got down on one knee. Yugi's eyes widened considerably. Gingerly he opened the box, revealing a stainless steel ring that gleamed silver in the rain that had begun falling. A huge diamond sat in the center with three rubies and four amethysts surrounded it. "Did it look anything like this?" One hand was covering his mouth as he stared down at the beautiful ring.

"How…? Yes. Only hers was gold and had rubies and sapphires." Yami bowed his head and lowered his hands.

_Heartbreak_

Yami sighed. "I thought so. I showed this to the guys about a month ago…I had a little extra saved from my jobs and bought this….The diamond is only there for tradition. The jewelers wouldn't have accepted it as a wedding ring without it. I pushed it with the stainless steel. The amethysts and rubies…that's obvious and the metal…" He looked up at Yugi. "It was a symbol of my love. I had heard from Seto that stainless steel will never rust and last forever. So I thought that it would say my love for you would only fade when it had rusted to nothing." A choked sob left the young boys throat, his hand clutched over his mouth to muffle his cries. He looked Yami in the eyes for the first time since he left.

_It's heartbreak warfare_

"But why didn't you…"

"Propose?" Yami asked. He looked at the ground. "I wasn't sure how. We might have been of marrying age in Egypt back in my time, but you were still in high school. I wasn't sure how you would react to something as big as this." He sighed. "Tea was there. She had looked at the ring enviously…then smirked. I admit I was nervous, but without knowing what she was doing there was nothing I could do. I'm sorry that I caused you such turmoil little one." He hung his head and stuffed his hands in his pockets, clutching the little box in his hand. _Guess I'll never need this again._ He thought. But before he could start to walk away, two little arms wrapped around his middle.

_It's heartbreak warfare_

"No. I'm sorry. Sorry that I didn't trust you, that I didn't try to see if she was lying. But I…" Yugi buried his face in the back of his coat. "Please don't leave me, not again." Hesitantly, Yami turned back around.

"Yugi." He whispered. Yugi looked up at him and Yami felt his heart skip a beat at the beauty of those beautiful gems. "I thought I didn't have a chance, but…" Slowly he lowered himself down onto his knee. Yugi was crying again, only this time out of joy. "Yugi, love of my life…will you marry me?" Yugi burst into tears, wrapping his arms around Yami's neck.

"Yes! Oh yes! Yes!" Yami smiled and hugged him back. From the safety of the street, Seto Kaiba watched the two with a small smile on his face.

"Well, my work here is done. Good luck you two." And with that he swept into his limousine and ordered the driver to go back to his mansion.


	9. Silence in the Library

Yo there! LIsten, I know it's taking a while for Saving Souls to be posted, so I pulled this out of my extensive list of uncompleted stories to give to you for your patience. THis is a drabble I cooked up a year or so ago when I contemplated doing a Doctor Who/Inheritance Cycle crossover. (Cause we all know that Eragon and the Inheritance books are two COMPLETELY different things) It was really just an excuse to add Eragon into a few of the episodes like "planet of the Ood" in season 4 and such. Only problem was, this was as far as I got! -.-u! So anyway! Here's something to much on!

Silence in the Library:

The Doctor spun gracefully around the console, tapping the dashboard with his miniature mallet. The TARDIS sang happily around them. Eragon smiled as he listened to her tuneless song. Thanks to his magical ability he was gifted with the sound of the song of the universe as he traveled with the Doctor and Donna. Unconsciously he began swaying to the melody. Just as he had immersed himself in the song the TARDIS came to a halt. Eragon cracked an eye open in annoyance. He enjoyed the universal song, but every time he immersed himself in it, the Doctor would stop the TARDIS or send a jolt that would disrupt him and bring him back into his own mind. The Doctor gave him a warning look. Eragon sighed. He knew why the Doctor was doing this. Saphira had commented that every time he lost himself in the song, it took longer for him to come back. He knew the Doctor was just trying to protect him. But honestly! The man was grating on his last nerve with his rough travels and sudden stops. There were easier ways to get his attention. The Doctor just beamed at him and snatched up his overcoat.

"Books!" The Doctor cried. "People never really stop loving books, " the Doctor said, jogging out into the hall of the building they had materialized in. He and Donna followed him out at a slightly slower pace, Eragon casting a wary look around. Brilliant the Doctor may be, but he did have a tendency to dash headfirst into the worst sort of trouble. "51st Century! By now you've gotten holo-vids, director drive downloads, fiction synthesizers, but just the smell, the smell of books!" He said, grinning from ear to ear and rubbing his fingers together to emphasize his point. Eragon gave a small smile and took a deep breath of the air. He sighed. The Doctor was right; there was just something about the scent of books that made you want to grin, as if the air itself was filled with knowledge. He frowned as he felt a shadow flicker on the edge of his consciousness. He turned and looked around the room carefully, before jogging to catch up with the Doctor and Donna. The Doctor threw open the double French doors and began walking down the steps to the balcony below. Eragon's jaw dropped at the shining metal structures and seemingly endless drop to the surface below. He and Saphira could have a field day flying around here.

"The Library!" The Doctor declared as he sauntered down the steps. "So big it doesn't even need a name, just a great big "THE"."

"It's like a city!" Donna exclaimed.

"It's a world. Literally, a world. The whole core is the index computer, biggest hard drive ever," the Doctor stated. Eragon's jaw would've dropped if it wasn't already hanging down by his ankles.

That _is the understatement of the Century, _Eragon thought. The Doctor however, was not privy to his line of thought and continued on.

"And up here is every book, ever written, whole continents of...Jeffery Archer, Bridget Jones...Monty Python's Big Red Book," the Doctor said, looking about the surface. "Brand new editions specially printed." Eragon raised his eyebrows.

"Quite impressive," Eragon said. The Doctor nodded and stuck a finger in his mouth, testing the air.

"We're near the Equator so...This must be Biographies!" the Doctor shouted, startling him and Donna. "I love Biographies!" Eragon smirked.

"Yeah, that's so you, always a death at the end," Donna commented.

"Oi!" The Doctor said, grinning at Eragon. "You need a good death."

"Or what, there wouldn't be any comedies?" Eragon asked, picking up a book and was opening it.

"Exactly. Dying gives us size, weigh-ah ah ah ah!" the Doctor said, snatching it out of Eragon's hands. Eragon now began glaring at him in earnest. The Doctor shrugged off the look and set the book out of his reach. "Spoilers," He said.

"What?" Donna asked.

"All these books are from your future. If you read ahead you'll spoil all the surprises. Like reading the end," the Doctor said.

"Isn't traveling with you one big spoiler?" Eragon asked with a shark-like smile. Donna grinned at having the Doctor's logic turned against him.

"I...try to keep you away from...major plot developments," the Doctor said, trying to recover. "Which...to be honest I seem to be very bad at because...you know what? This is the biggest library in the universe...So where is everybody?" he asked. Eragon frowned, feeling that shadow press against his mind again.

"It's silent," the Doctor said in amazement, walking over to one of those miniature, magic columns-that-are-not-columns.

"The Library?" Donna asked, following him over to the console. The Doctor took out his screwdriver and began fiddling with it.

"The Planet," the Doctor said, as the screen booted up. "The Whole Planet," Donna looked confused.

"Well...Maybe it's a Sunday?" Donna guessed. Eragon blinked at the term, then remembered that Sunday in her culture was a holy day that no one worked on.

"No, no one's allowed in on Sundays. Sundays are boring."

_Like that could stop the TARDIS. _Eragon thought. Now Donna looked annoyed.

"Well maybe everyone's just being really, really quiet," She said. The Doctor frowned as he fiddled with the controls.

"Maybe. They'd still show up on the system though," he said. Now it was Eragon's turn to be confused.

"What?" He asked. Donna sighed.

"Doctor why are we here? I mean really why?" Donna inquired. The Doctor turned back to the console in front of him.

"Oh you know just...passing through," he floundered. Eragon frowned even more. He didn't need to be inside the Doctors head to know that he was lying.

"No, cause it's all 'Let's hit the Beach' and then you start prattling on about books. Why?" Donna asked. The Doctor wasn't listening though. His attention was on the computer in front of him.

"Now that's interesting," the Doctor murmured.

"What is?" Eragon asked, wanting to know what had the Doctor so intrigued.

"Scanning for life forms. When I do a scan for humanoid life forms, you're basic book reader or shopper, I get nothing besides us. But..." the Doctor pressed a button.

"If I broaden the scan to any type of life..." All of a sudden the numbers began racing upwards until it reached 1,000,000,000,000 before it stopped and the screen flashed an error message. "A million, million. Gives up after that." They all began looking around for some kind of sign that the planet was populated. "A million, million."

"But there's no one here." Donna insisted, turning about.

"And not a sound," the Doctor whispered. Eragon just stared at the screen, feeling that shadow press against his mind again. Now he realized what it was. It was another life form, but not just one, hundreds, thousands of them, all thinking together as a unit. He began backing away from the scanner and towards the door in case they needed to make an escape. "A million, million life forms...and silence in the library," the Doctor mused.

"But there's no one here," Donna said. "There's just books...I mean, it isn't the books is it? I mean it can't be the books can it? ...I mean the books can't be alive...can they?" They all turned to the books stacked on the railings. The Doctor and Donna slowly approached the small pile. They had just reached out a hand when a voice echoed through the hallways.

"Welcome" something said in a very unemotional voice. The Doctor and Donna jumped, but Eragon was far enough away to hear that the voice came from behind them. He quickly turned on his heel and went back into the great lobby they had arrived in. He went up to the desk where an abstract sculpture stood. Slowly the "head" turned to look at them. Eragon was disgusted at the sight. The statue was unaffected by the heat of his glare and simply continued talking. "I am courtesy node 710/Aqua. Please enjoy the library, and respect the access codes of your fellow reader's privacy, regardless of species, or other means of hygiene taboo."

"That face...it looks real," Donna mumbled.

"Yeah, don't worry about that," the Doctor said.

"A statue with a real face though? What is it a hologram or something?" Donna asked.

"No but...really, it's fine," he said, before the courtesy node interjected itself.

"Please note an additional message left by the head librarian for your urgent attention," The statue said. "This message has been edited for tone and content by Felman Lux, automated decency filter. Message follows: 'Run. For Gods sake run. No way is safe. The Library has sealed itself. We can't-Oh god, they're here. Ugh, Slaugh, Sniff' Message Ends.'" By now the hairs on the back of Eragon's arms were standing on end. Despite the flat voice and emotionless expression, it was quite clear that the man had been terrified. Now he was tenser than ever, and he could feel those things getting closer. "Please switch off your mobile com units for the comfort of other readers," The Statue finished. The three of them stared at the node in horror.

"So that's why we're here," the Doctor said, staring intently at the statue. Eragon was shifting from foot to foot in nervous energy. He really didn't want to be here. "Any other messages, same date stamp?" The Doctor asked.

"One additional message," the courtesy node said. "This Message carries a Felman Lux coherency warning of Fiv-"

"Yeah, fine, fine, fine! Just play it," the Doctor interrupted, impatient with all of the techno-babble the statue was spouting.

"Message follows:" The node said, not even deterred by the Doctors rudeness. "'Count the Shadows. For God's sake remember if you want to live, count the shadows. Message ends." Now Eragon was near to panic. His entire skin was alive with electricity and his hand with the gedwey ignasia itched so bad it was like his palm was on fire.

"Donna, Eragon?" The Doctor whispered.

"Yeah?" Donna asked back in a low, frightened voice.

"Stay out of the Shadows," he warned, turning around and heading deeper into the library. Reluctantly, Donna and Eragon followed him. Donna swallowed.

"Why? What's in the shadows?" She asked as she jogged to keep up with his quick stride. Eragon was on high alert as they walked into a great hall with shelves as high as the ceilings.

"We weren't just in the neighborhood were we?" Eragon said, making it sound more like a statement than a question.

"Yeah. I kinda...sorta...lied a bit." He admitted. "Gotta message on the psychic paper." He held out the little wallet he and Donna to see.

"_The Library. Come as soon as you can. X"_ It read.

"Cry for help?" He inquired. Eragon stared at the message, wondering if the "X" was the persons name or some sort of euphemism. Donna took the paper from the Doctor.

"Cry for help 'with a kiss'?" Donna asked. Eragon snorted in amusement. Euphemism then. The Doctor just shrugged, not understanding it either. "Who's it from?" She asked, smiling at the Doctor.

"I don't know." He said. Eragon was about to cry out in exasperation, when a wave of anticipation swept down the hall towards them. The light at the end of the hall went out. The Doctor saw his face and turned to see what he was looking at.

"So why'd we come here?" Donna complained. I mean-"

"Donna," the Doctor said. She stopped and turned to see what had them so scared. One by one the lights were going out, heading progressively towards them.

"What's happening?" She squeaked.

"Run!" The Doctor cried, dashing in the other direction. Eragon raced ahead of them, feeling the need to get away from whatever that was. The elation, expectancy, and boiling pressure was like a black cloud of ill will in his mind. He needed to get away from it. Eragon turned the corner only to skid to a halt in front of another pair of great, double French doors. The Doctor slid to a stop beside him and began trying to open the doors, Donna only a second behind him.

"No!" The Doctor shouted, slamming on the door."

"Is it locked?" Eragon barked out.

"It's jammed! The woods expanded!" The Doctor said, pounding on the crack.

"Quick!" Donna shouted. "Use your sonic screwdriver to un-jamb it!" The power outage was catching up to them. Eragon got shivers as whatever it was got closer and closer.

"I can't its wood!" the Doctor said, frustrated. Eragon was scandalized.

"The ultimate tool in the universe and _it doesn't do wood?_" Eragon shouted.

"Wait a minute. The locks are made out of metal! If I can just adjust the frequency to loosen the bolts..."

"Oh let me!" Donna shouted, pushing him away. Taking a step back she raised her foot and kicked the doors. The lock splintered under the force and the doors swung in smoothly. The three rushed in and closed the door, the doctor shoving a book between the handles.

"Malthinae!" Eragon said. Immediately there was a click. Eragon slumped down against the desk, eyes closed in weariness and relief. Now that they were out of immediate danger they took a look around. Eragon froze in wonder at what he was seeing. The Doctor beamed and walked forward.

"Oh! Hello! So sorry to burst in on you like this! Mind if we stop here for a bit?" the Doctor asked. The wooden ball that had been hovering in the middle of the room suddenly dropped on to the ground and, for all intents and purposes, looked as if it was dead. The Doctor and Donna walked forward to see what it was. Eragon merely kept on resting where he was. It had been a while since he had done such complex magic with a single word. He needed to sit down for a while. And eat, he was starving.

"What is it?" Eragon asked from where he was lying.

"Security camera." The Doctor said, tapping the thing with his shoe. "Switched itself off." He said, picking it up and turning it about in his hands. Curious, the Doctor took out his sonic screwdriver and began fiddling with the strange device. "Nice door skills Donna," the Doctor complemented.

"Yeah well, Boyfriends, sometimes you need the element of surprise," she said, shrugging it off. "What was that? What was after us? I mean, did we just run away from a power cut?" She asked.

"No." Eragon said quickly, Donna spun to face him and the Doctor glanced up from what he was doing. He was about to say possibly, but something told him Eragon knew more. "I don't know what it was, but whatever it is. It's intelligent, and it wanted us."

"But why us? What did we ever do to it?" Donna asked. Eragon frowned.

"It's not angry at us. More like eager and excited. Like it was getting something it hadn't had in a long while," he replied. Donna looked up at the skylight.

"Are we safe here?" She asked. The Doctor glanced up from his work again.

"Course we are, there's a little shop," the Doctor said. Both turned to see a panel of glass that proudly declared it as "The Shop". Eragon rolled his eyes. Really, he sometimes questioned this man's sanity. All of a sudden the metal lid that concealed the eyepiece opened. "Gotcha!" The Doctor cried in triumph, looking at it intently. Eragon looked at a small black strip on the side that was flashing red letters across it. The Doctor looked down at that and read it.

"Oh! I'm so sorry. I really am. I'm so, so sorry!" He said, dropping it to the floor. He looked at his companions. "It's alive," he said. Eragon's eyes widened. That was impossible! He would be able to feel if it was alive! It couldn't have life!

"But you said it was just a security camera!" Donna shouted.

"It is. ...It's an alive one." The Doctor said. Eragon just kept staring down at the camera.

_Live statues, Invisible life forms, machines that are alive-but-not-alive. I am beginning to question my sanity in following this man._ Eragon thought. Just then new words began to crawl across the screen.

"What does it mean others?" Donna spotted one of the courtesy nodes and walked up to it. "Excuse me, what does it mean others?" She asked.

"That's little more than a speaking wake machine, it can't help you," the Doctor said.

"So why has it got a face?" Donna asked. The head turned to face them and began speaking.

"This flesh aspect was donated by Mark Chambers upon the occasion of his death." It said. Eragon's face twisted into a mask of disgust. Well he wasn't hungry anymore. Donna turned to stare at the Doctor.

"It's a real face!" She cried.

"It has been actualized individually for you. From the Mini Facial Aspects saved to our extensive flesh banks. Please. Enjoy," the statue said. Eragon was even more disgusted now. The Doctor got up from where he was and walked over to Donna. She just looked up at the statue in horror.

"It chose me a dead face it thought I'd like? That statue has got a real dead persons face on it!" She cried.

"It's...the 51st Century. It's like donating a park bench," the Doctor explained calmly. Eragon was not soothed; and neither, it seemed, was Donna.

"It's donating a face!" Donna shrieked, backing away from the statue. The Doctor looked down and quickly grabbed a hold of Donna, keeping her from moving back any further. "Uh! Hands!" Donna said, slapping him away. The Doctor paid no attention.

"Shadow. Look," he said, pointing down. Eragon looked as well. It was odd. There was nothing about it that made it unusual, and yet when he looked at it those same goose bumps that he got from the power outage covered his body.

"What is it?" Donna asked in annoyance.

"Count the shadows," the Doctor said, looking around. Donna looked down at the ground.

"One," she said. "There I've counted it. One shadow."

"Yes," the Doctor agreed. "But what's casting it?" At that the hairs on Eragon's arms stood up again. He slowly backed as far away from the shadow as possible. A cold sweat had broken out all over his form. He didn't like this place. It gave him the creeps. The whispering voices in his mind. The feeling of life forms without seeing them. It was putting him on edge, making him jumpy. He wanted off this planet and the sooner, the better.

"OH!" The Doctor shouted, causing Eragon to nearly jump out of his skin. "I'm thick! Look at me I'm old, and thick; head's too full of stuff-I need a bigger head!" He ran over to one of the doorways that was still open. Eragon followed, staying as close to the Time Lord as possible. As ashamed as he was to admit it, he was very scared and the Doctor made him feel as safe as Saphira did. They all looked down into the corridor and shivered. The light at the end was fading; first shining brightly, than dimming into near nothingness.

"The lights are going out," Donna said.

"Those lights run off fission cells they'll out burn the sun," the Doctor replied.

"But then why is it dark?" She asked.

"It's not dark," Eragon said. The Doctor glanced at him in surprise. Eragon tapped his temple. The Doctor didn't nod, didn't smile. His lips only pursed together into a grimmer line while his eyes imparted understanding.

"Doctor." Donna said, tugging on his sleeve. "That shadows gone," she said. The Doctor glanced about anxiously.

"We need to get back to the TARDIS," the Doctor said, backing out of the room.

"Why?" Donna asked, clearly trying to hold back her panic.

"Because that shadow hasn't gone, it's moved," the Doctor said, confirming his fears. These shadows weren't regular shadows. They were alive, and more importantly, they were hunting them.

"Sundavar abr Dauth," Eragon whispered, glancing about nervously.

"And what does that mean?" Donna asked, annoyed and frightened.

"It...means the Shadows of Death," the Doctor said. Now they were all on edge. The slightest sound would send them into a panic. Their eyes darted back and forth, trying desperately to see their enemy.

"Reminder. The Library has been breached. Others are coming," the node began saying, firing its voice into the quiet. "Reminder. The Library has been breached. Others are coming," it repeated, saying the same thing over and over again. They all looked at the floor frantically, trying to catch one of those shadows in the act before they could sneak up on them. All of a sudden the doors exploded and the strangest creatures came walking in. They were covered in an odd white cloth and were basically human in shape. They walked forward until they reached their small group or, more specifically, the Doctor. The apparent leader touched her head and the blank screen that was their face lightened and revealed their real, human faces. The woman smiled at the Doctor.

"Hello sweetie," she said.

"Get out," the Doctor said, ignoring her familiar language. "All of you get back in your rocket and leave! Tell your Grandchildren you came to the Library and lived, they won't believe you!"

"Take your helmets off everyone! We've got breathers!" The woman said, ignoring the Doctors warning. Everyone began removing their strange heads, which Eragon now realized were much like an armored helmet he wore in battle, only covering the head completely.

"How do you know they're not Androids?" One suited person asked, a husky female voice coming out from behind the helmet she hadn't taken off.

"Because I've dated Androids. They're rubbish." The lead woman said, taking off her helmet completely and revealing her face.

She was pretty as human standards go. Her skin was clear, with striking green-brown eyes. Her hair was curled into the tiniest ringlets, giving immense volume and a slightly fly away feel. Her features were a little strong to be considered truly beautiful, but it was obvious she was a good person and a wonderful soul.

"What's this?" A man said, taking his helmet off. Unlike the woman he was simply average, with buzz cut brown hair and a chubby face. His watery grey eyes bored into the leader woman. "You said this was the only expedition. I paid for exclusives!"

"I lied. I'm always lying. Bound to be others," the leader woman said. The man gained an angry red flush to his cheeks and stomped away.

"Miss Evangelista I want to see the contracts," the man said. A very young woman-who was nothing short of gorgeous, with her porcelain skin, silky dark hair, and wide, crystal blue eyes-nodded and began searching the packs. The Leader woman turned to the Doctor.

"You came through the North Corridor yeah? How was that, much damage there?" She asked.

"Please, just leave. I'm asking you seriously and properly just le-hang on, did you just say expedition?" the Doctor asked, momentarily distracted and looking around at the people around them.

"My expedition. I funded it." Said the man who had complained about the Doctor and the others being here. Eragon looked confused. Expeditions were taken into unexplored territory, and this certainly wasn't unexplored. The Doctor, however, seemed to know what was going on; and he wasn't happy.

"Oh, you...you're not are you? Tell me you're not archeologists," the Doctor pleaded, looking about with a mixture of annoyance and contempt.

"Got a problem with Archeologists?" the leader woman asked, giving him the beginnings of a stink eye.

"I'm a time traveler. I point and _laugh_ at archeologists," the Doctor said.

"Ah." The woman said. "Professor River Song. _Archeologist_," she said. Eragon smirked and began digging into their heads to see what was there. He didn't do much more than touch their surface memories, but he immediately ran into something odd. Everyone was connected to one another. It wasn't nearly as strong or as tight as his bond with Saphira, but it was there, like a spider thread that touched the minds in the room.

"Professor River Song. Lovely name. As your leaving, and you're leaving now. You need to set up a quarantine beacon covering the planet. The whole planet! Nobody comes here! Not ever again. Not one living thing. Not here not ever-stop right there!" The Doctor said, running over and pulling the woman who had refused to take her helmet off earlier away from the door she had been about to go through and back into the middle of the light. "Sorry, what was your name?" the Doctor asked.

"Anita" she said, looking very befuddled at the fact that this man was dragging her around.

"Anita. Wonderful to meet you, stay out of the shadows. Not a foot, not a finger in the shadows, until you're safely back on your ship," he said. "That goes for all of you! Stay in the light! Find a nice bright spot and just stand," the Doctor said, demonstrating by standing in the middle of the pool of light and stopping. "If you understand me look very, very scared," Eragon looked about the room and snorted. Oh they looked scared all right, but not by the Sundavar abr Dauth. "No, bit more scared than that," the Doctor said. Everyone just stared. "Okay, do for now. You! Who are you?" the Doctor asked, pointing to a dark skinned man close to the doors the expedition team had come out of and walking towards him.

"Uh-Dave?" the man said.

"Dave. Tell me, what does-"

"Well, Other Dave actually," Dave interrupted. Eragon snorted. Who would want to be called "Other Dave"? "That's Proper Dave over there. He's the pilot and the first Dave to join the-"

"Other Dave, the way you came, does it look the same as before?" the Doctor asked. Other Dave looked confused by the question.

"Yeah," He replied. "Ooh! It's a bit darker though." Eragon jerked up at these words.

"How much darker?" the Doctor asked.

"Well...like I could see where we came through just a moment ago, I can't now." Other Dave elaborated. Eragon frowned and focused on the corridor. Yes, he could feel them. There were quite a few, and they were trying to creep in.

"Seal off this door, find another way out," the Doctor said, turning around back to the room.

"We're not looking for a way out," the chubby man said.

_Oh yes we are. _Eragon thought. The man handed three forms to the gorgeous young woman-Evangelista he believed her name was-and nodded to them. The woman hurried over and held out the clipboard with the documents on them.

"Excuse me," She said. "I'm Mr. Lux's personal...everything. You need to sign these forms saying that your personal experience inside The Library are the intellectual property of the Felman Lux Corporation," This was obviously a rehearsed speech, one that she got wrong often, if the fact that Mr. Lux mouthed it with her was any indication.

'Yeah, right. Give it here?" the Doctor and Donna asked. They picked up the papers, and tore them in half.

Eragon, feeling sorry for the woman, picked up his and began looking for a writing utensil.


	10. Strange Equivalence

Yo. This was just a random drabble I came up with on the fly. I've always read those one-shots that are like snippets of a story from different points in the storyline. This is my first attempt at writing one. Enjoy! ^-^

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_**The Laws of Alchemy**_

When the gate had first deposited him here, Edward was sure he would go insane. The sights, the sounds, the _smells_; all overwhelmed his senses and left him wandering the streets, doing odd jobs and babbling to himself in his native tongue as the inhabitants of the city kept their distance, believing him to be a madman escaped from the hospital. Edward himself wondered sometimes. For all the strange, futuristic, distinctly eastern flavor this place had, it's people were of such wide ethnic diversity-so like Amestris-that he often found himself wondering if he had dreamed it all up. More than once he had had to run from the police when they found his hideout and tried to drag him off to where they thought "people like him belonged".

It wasn't until later, that he would consider it more than coincidence that the strange boy who gazed at him with such mesmerizing violet eyes and the wildest tricolor hair he had ever seen, was the one who found him shivering in that alley like a stray cat as he hid. With shocked eyes, the boy took in the ragged cloak and sopping hair, before he smiled and offered his hand. It had been with great reluctance that he extended his own hand(flesh, not metal) towards the young boy, shorter than him.

He never regretted it.

_**Are as Follows:**_

It had been with great trepidation that Edward had stayed in the quaint store/house the boy lived in, for more than a single day to get cleaned up and fed. How the boy had ever convinced him without being able to communicate through the language barrier properly, Ed would never know, but somehow he managed.

So now here he sat at the boy's low eating table, a large group of friends congregated around the small wooden piece of furniture, giving him looks ranging from delighted to hostile. One particularly loud blonde with bright brown eyes was currently giving him the third degree...in his own tongue.

Ed sighed. He really needed to learn their language.

_**Analysis**_

There was something off about his host; Yugi-he had learned-was his name.

Oh it was nothing so obvious, but Ed wasn't a prodigy for nothing. He had analyzed the boy quite thoroughly, trying to find some hidden motive in taking him in. There was an odd way in which the boy talked, in the way he moved, even the way he focused on things. There was always this look of longing, wistfulness, as if something important was missing. He would look over his shoulder-mouth halfway open with a comment, only to turn back with a sad expression, as if about to call out to someone only to remember they weren't there.

To be honest, it kinda reminded him of his own reactions to Al, trying to respond to a piece of yourself, only to realize that it was gone.

_**Deconstruction**_

His discovery of Yugi's powers was nothing particularly special, it wasn't a slipped mistake in front of him, nor a glance caught through the corner of his eye as he spied on his host late at night.

No, his discovery of Yugi's powers was through kidnapping and near murder, as Yugi lost nearly all his life points in that game of Duel Monsters, draining him of his life force and reminding him of the gate far too much to be comfortable. He had been mad-no, even _pissed_ was putting it too lightly. He had walked out the Turtle Game Shop's doors and vowed never to come back.

Two weeks and a heavily bruised jaw (courtesy of Joey) had him sulking up the sidewalk to the door, only to be tackled to the ground with teary violet eyes gazing at him with relief, tugging him back behind the counter and into the house part of the building with his favorite coffee and snacks laid out before him. It confused him immensely, as he was so used to harsh actions and harsher words, even from those he cared about. In his opinion, the kind treatment was far worse. Yugi never got angry with him, not even once.

Ed never left again after that.

_**Reconstruction**_

It was an accident really, after realizing that no one had even heard of automail before Ed strove to keep his hidden. Yugi had only seen it as it was hard to keep such a big secret when you lived in such close quarters with another person. However, one rushed trip through Kaiba-Land, a hijacking, and a crazed would-be kidnapper had his synthetic cover slashed to ribbons-the kidnapper after Mokuba having brought a steel knife-and the metal of his fake limb gleaming in the hot summer sun.

Rather than be rejected by his new-found friends, or carted off to the nearest lab, Seto Kaiba offered him a job in Kaiba Corp., letting him and his researchers carefully take apart the machinery and examine the port to see if they could recreate the synthesized limbs. Frustrated with his inability to do anything in this world and immensely relieved he was not being treated as a lab rat, Edward easily agreed, glad to finally be of some use to someone.

It wasn't until he spent his first paycheck from Kaiba corporations helping buy the groceries for the small game shop, that Edward realized he had started constructing a life here in Yugi's world. And the discovery left him reeling for days, pondering over his notes and wondering if he truly wanted to go back.

_**A circle **_

Edward set down his hastily scribbled notes of the past few months, and rubbed the port of his arm, trying to stave off the stabbing ache that had settled into the bolted bones of his shoulder as the icy winter rain pounded on the window panes. It had been nearly a year now, they had nearly come full circle since that miserable day in the back alley. In a few moths this freezing rain would turn into icy snow that would blanket the ground in a sparkling sheet of white.

He was not looking forward to it.

Seeing Yugi excitedly cut out paper strips and tape them in a colorful pattern of red and green chain links, chattering gleefully about the upcoming holiday however, was something that Ed thought he could get used too.

Though why they were putting up the decorations three months early was anyone's guess.

_**That draws its power**_

Coincidence, Ed had found, was just as strong a law as equivalent exchange. No one ever met someone who would have no effect on their life. Every person, whether the contact was long or brief, affected the other in some way.

Alchemy did not work in this world. At first he had thought it was just unfortunate coincidence, but after being exposed to Shadow Magic, Ed strongly believed it was because this world already had a power source, something that took its place. As far as Ed could tell, there were no other powers in this world, no psychics, no mediums, seers or wizards. Anyone who had supernatural power (and he had to admit, Alchemy's power source came from a rather _super_natural being) was skilled in the art of shadow magic to some extent.

Which meant, that in order for his Alchemy to work, he'd have to get Yugi to power the transmutation.

_**from the strength within oneself**_

When the time finally came, when all was said and done and the gate circle complete, Edward found himself full of trepidation. His mind was torn in two. On one hand, he wanted to see his brother_ so bad_. He wanted to be able to hold his skinny waist and bury his nose in his hair-_his brother's real hair_-and never let go. He wanted to see Winry and Pinako and Riza and-yes! Even Roy! He wanted to see his country blossom out from under the thumb of Father and _know_ that things would be better from here on out.

The other side wanted to stay here, enjoy the life he had built with these people. They all had welcomed him so easily into their hearts, and he in turn had welcomed them. It was hard _not_ to like patient, understanding Tristan, or passionate, driven Tea with her dreams of fame and determination to reach. She would go far in life, he could tell. It was impossible not to fall in love with cool, suave Mai, bumbling, friendly Joey, or eager-to-please Mokuba. Heck! Even Kaiba had grown on him!-in a bastardy sort of way. (That man made him really appreciate his own superior, who was far more open and easy to read) He had grown accustomed to life here, even with all of its fast pace and impossible machines this world was beautiful in all its imperfections.

So it was with a torn mind and a heavy heart, that he gave the signal to Yugi, who nodded sadly and poured his magic into the circle, watching as the dark energy turned a dancing blue that enveloped his body and slowly began to deconstruct his body. As he looked up, his heart jolted at the tearful eyes Yugi fixed on him.

_I don't want to go!_ He thought, stretching out his hand for the young shadow master.

But it was too late.

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Wahhh! This one ended so sadly!

So yeah! My idea for an FMA/Yu-Gi-Oh! crossover. I was inspired by esama's "Serious Insanity: The Meme" chapter 2: Edwards and Yugis first kiss. This one turned out a lot heavier than hers though.


	11. Crossover Plots

This is just random crossover ideas I've had for quite some time, some inspired by stories I've read, others just out of my own head. Warning, all of them involve either Harry Potter or Kuroshitsuji.

Harry Potter/Lord of the Rings:

"Put it out you fools! Put it out!" Frodo cried, stepping on the fire and desperately trying to quell the flames before anything took notice. A high, cold screech told him he was too late though. Shaking, the Hobbits all picked up their swords and gathered in a circle, anxiously watching for any sign of danger. They didn't have to wait long. After a few seconds, five dark robed figures seemed to melt out of the darkness. Silent as shadows they drew their weapons, holding them in front of their bodies with both hands. Shaking, the Hobbits drew their swords, hands shaking as they faced these creatures with what little courage they had. Frodo fell back, watching as the Riders focused on him, paying no more attention to his companions as you would to a mosquito. As the leader seemed to catch his gaze, an overpowering urge to put on the ring overcame him. Slowly, as if his hand was made of lead, he reached for the one ring, and slipped it onto his finger. Immediately his perspective changed. Instead of being clothed in black, the Black Riders were now pale as ghosts, clothed in royal garb with faces as cold as they were terrible. Frodo fell back, only for the lead Nazgul to pounce upon him. A burning pain erupted in his shoulder and his vision greyed. Briefly before he lost conscioussness he thought he heard a beautiful trill that fired his blood, made him want to jump into battle, and saw a figure leap in front of the Black Riders, brandishing a burning brand in front of him, that seemed to expand and wrap around the Riders as if alive.

Time was a strange concept, meaning something to everyone. In his mortal life time had been so important. There was never enough to do what he wanted to do, what needed to be done. Back then time had been so linear, so focused and rigid, divided into minutes and hours and days. If their was anything immortality had taught him though, it was that time was relative. There was only as much of it as you perceived. If you believed there was no time, then there was no time, and what did Harry have but time? Trapped as he was in this immortal form he was ageless, unkillable. There was no rush. Everything would happen in it's own time.

But as he sensed a darkness he had not felt since the end of the second age Harry was reminded of something else. Perception was everything, but that did not make you time's mistress. Sometimes, despite your beliefs, there was no time, sometimes things had to be quick, decisive, and just a little reckless in order to suceed. Just like his alerting the Ranger and joining the fight, using his control of fire to make the torch flames billow and form a protective barrier around the group. But now looking at the little child curled on the ground with dark power pulsing from his shoulder, he knew he had been too late. Hopping over to the child-no young man-he gazed with sorrowful green eyes at the doomed little one. He would be consumed by the dark power, and there was nothing...

Wait.

Harry tilted his head. Could that work? He certainly had enough sorrow, but he had never been a true phoenix. Every power outside of the control of fire was extremely tiring, and he had already used a great deal of his strength in his heartening song. Still, looking at this poor little one, he knew he had to do something, or else he would never make it. Bending his head over the little one's shoulder, he gathered all his strength and sorrow and let it well inside him until he felt it overflow as great, big, pearly tears that fell from his eyes and onto the young man's wound. With a deadly hiss, the tears hit the wound and were absorbed, one by one closing the stab and not even leaving a scar. The youngling gasped and opened his eyes, staring at him disbelievingly. Harry managed a small, happy trill, before the overexertion overwhelmed him and he fell into unconsciousness.

It was so dark, so cold. He could barely hear his friends calling his name or see Strider rushing to his side over the overwhelming shadows that seemed to sap away at his strength. A brief flash of warmth by his side made him want to open his eyes, but he could not find the strength. A mournful croon sounded from his side and it made tears well in his eyes. All of a sudden it felt as if molten lead was being poured over his wound. Frodo grit his teeth against the agony, but drop after drop continued to hit his shoulder. With a gasp he opened his eyes to scream, only to find the brightest, most intense pair of glowing green eyes staring at him. Struck speechless Frodo could only gaze into those deep pools of wisdom and sorrow, not even remembering what had pained him earlier. With a quiet happy little trill, the bird seemed to almost smile at him, before it collapsed in his lap.

"Mr. Frodo!" Sam shouted, rushing over to his side and hastily helping him sit up, one hand on his back for support. "Mr. Frodo! Are you all right?" He asked anxiously, raking his eyes up and down to check for any injuries. Strider knelt down next to him, taking over the inspection. Frodo shivered, his hand rubbing his shoulder where the cold still radiated from Instantly the Ranger's eyes honed in on that spot and he pushed aside the cloth to get a better look at the flesh.

"Did the Rider miss? There is no mark where a Morgul blade would have cut." He said.

"I don't know. I felt the blade pierce me, and an overwhelming cold, but this fellow here did something, and it felt like liquid heat was poured over the wound." Frodo turned his eyes to the brid that still lay in his lap. The Ranger looked down to see what he was talking about and gasped.

"Narquesse!" He whispered, looking at the bird with wonder. "I have heard the stories, but never believed that I would ever see it,"

"What's a Narquesse?" Merry asked.

"THE Narquesse is a bird of legend that is said to have come at the end of the first age. The Elves revered it for it's beautiful voice that was said to be able to make widows dance with joy, and armies fall to their knees. It is sung that the Narquesse could control fire and even heal mortal wounds. It disappeared right before the battle against Sauron and the End of the Second age. No one has seen it since," He turned his eyes to Frodo's wound and gently began prodding the skin. He sighed. "I cannot feel anything," He said, then looked about the camp. "The Riders are gone for now, but it is too dangerous to stay. Come, pack your things quickly. If they've caught our trail he will have to hurry even more," the hobbits nodded and hurredly began packing. With one last glance at the campsite, the five quickly made their way towards the hills, carrying the unconscious bird with them.

By the next morning the residual warmth of the Narquesse's healing had worn off, leaving him cold again. They had not risked a fire again to hopefully throw the Riders off their location a bit. But the cold night had felt as if it had a life of it's own, sinking icy claws into his healed shoulder and causing his teeth to clatter and grit from the pain. As they packed Frodo could feel the tenderness of his shoulder and found, much to his horror, that his arm would barely respond to any command he gave it. Calling Striders name in panic, the Ranger quickly knelt by him and felt the wound again. Whatever he found there made him frown and sigh.

"It seems as if our friends' healing was not as potent as I thought," he said. "He managed to close the wound, but the evil of the blade remains in your shoulder. Any help that he gave you has been nullified by the chill of last night," He rose quickly and picked up Frodo's pack, pulling things out to redistribute. "Our flight to Rivendell has now taken on a new urgency. Frodo, walk beside me," Packs redone, Strider set them out at an even faster pace,

As the horse stepped onto the opposite shores of the Bruinen, Frodo turned to look behind him at his pursuers, and found the seven on the other side of the river, robed in black and riding on fearsome black horses.

"Go back!" He shouted, lifting his sword into the air. "Go back to Mordor and follow me no longer!" The Nazgul laughed.

"Come here!" The Riders chanted. "To Mordor we will take you!" Frodo shook with the effort it took to face them, feeling both the wound and the ring pulling him to the creatures.

"In the name of Elbereth and Luthian the fair..." He spoke shakily. "You shall have neither the ring nor me." The lead Rider raised his hand, and all of a sudden Frodo found himself struck dumb, unable to speak or move as the Riders began to ford the river. The world greyed as they approached, the ever present darkness in his vision encroaching further and further the closer they came.

The grinding, rushing sound of water stirred him from his tunneling vision. Distantly he watched as the horses panicked and the Riders tried to go back, only to find themselves blocked by dim red glows and a great white light that shone like a star. Unable to go backwards, many of the horses milled about in panic, but the leader focused on him and rushed forward, determined to make it to Frodo before the water reached them.

As if that rush had triggered something, the Narquesse opened it's green eyes, the light in them blazing as it flew in front of Frodo and exploded in a burst of fire, blazing in front of the shore and daring the Riders to try and cross. Now frightened beyond control, the leaders horse whinnied in terror and turned about, ready to bolt anywhere as long as it was away and was swept in the middle of the flood waters. Strength depleted, Frodo dimly felt himself fall from the saddle, oblivious to the calls of his name, only focusing on the Narquesse as the flames quelled, and left a large, oddly human shaped form that glowed dimly from within with the same light as the star on the other shore, smiling faintly in amusement as the form collapsed by him again.

_There seems to be a pattern here._ He thoughtly faintly; and he wasn't sure or not, but he's certain that before he fell into unconsciousness, he heard a laugh that chimed in shared mirth, emerald green eyes sparkling at him.

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End of what I've got

Eh...Now that's it's actually on paper (metaphorically of course) it seems a little thrown together and contrived. I'll still keep it of course, but if I ever end up writing this, each chapter is getting a serious makeover and at least 3 revisions before it's posted. I'm not going to ruin Lord of the Rings by writing a poor crossover for it.

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The driving idea:

After the war against Voldemort, Harry finally believes that he can have a normal life, with children and the wife of his dreams. He marries Ginny, and within a year they have a child. Not long after that, there's another, and then another. As they raise their son though, they gradually notice that Harry's not aging. Both Ginny and their son look older every year, but Harry himself has not aged a single day past the final battle. Moreover, he's sprouting feathers and his magic has stopped responding to him. Worried, Harry goes to Hermione for help, as she's the lead researcher into experimental magic. After much analysis they figure out that when Voldemort killed the horcrux inside him, he removed Harry's magical barrier that seperates his animagi magic (which is a phoenix) from his wizards magic. As a result he was gaining the features and abilities of the phoenix, which includes aglessness. What's more, nothing can stop the transformation. Harry watches as his friends, his children, and his children's children, all die of old age and pass from the world-though his children, through the gift of his new power, live twice as long as the average wizard and are much more powerful. Harry watches as the wizarding world slowly forgets who he was, and he gains a new name Ari the Divine, one of the most powerful magical creatures that will grant infinite power to whomever can control it. At this point, Harry is nearly all phoenix. The only thing that remains is his green eyes. A rising Dark Lord decides to capture him in order to harness his prowess. Harry barely escapes from his followers, and in his panic, activates his teleportation powers. However, he does not have a destination in mind except somewhere no one knows him, either as Harry Potter or Ari, which sends him spiralling into a new dimension altogether. The Valar catch him and grant him passage to Middle Earth, but scold him about sucuumbing to his form. They tell him that when he defeated Voldemort he had been so much stronger, so much more than he was now. They send him to Middle Earth to regain that strength. One of the ideas is that over time, as Harry regains who he is and becomes a strong champion, he gains more and more control over his powers. Where at one point it may have knocked him out to use any ability other than firebending, Harry would be able to sing, cry, and nullify somethings weight all in one go. This change would also be physical in his appearance as a human. When he first transforms back into human form, his hair is almost completely red, his face is thin and elongated like a beak, and his body is covered in fine red downy feathers with a voice that seemed to sing with every word. As he gains control, his features would calm, losing the feathers, preventing his phoenix song from bleeding into his voice. His final form when he has complete mastery would be much like an elf. The difference would be in the hair, which is streaked with red, the face which is more birdlike than the catlike elegance of the elves, and his immunity to fire.

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Harry/Kuroshitsuji (2 different ideas)

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1st Idea:

_/This is parsletongue/_

February was particularly cold this year. The chill wind swept across the moors outside the small town, frosting the moss and crystalizing one's breath into wisps of icy clouds. The tents of the circus members created rough streets and small alleyways in a colorful parody of the cities roads and houses. Crew members and Circus performers travelling through their own minature village as naturally as any born Londoner, disrupted by the occaisonal audience member who looked about as if the very air carried a stink only they could smell, cutting through the color of the Circus with their drab colored clothes.

Not that Snake really cared, he thought, lounging further back into his niche at the enterance of the first tier member tents, striped shirt parted to show his scaled skin to detter pickpockets and troublemakers with his presence. Outsiders would never understand the bonds of the Circus, the sense of family and belonging that came from traveling with your friends for months on end, your talents being the only thing supporting each other. These people who lived in the cities would never understand their need for each other, and he hoped they never did.

The soft whisper of scales drew his thoughts away from the foreigners who stomped through their homes and onto his companion. _/What occupies your mind hatchling?/_ A soft, deep voice asked, hissing with concern and curiosity. Snake wrapped a hand around the black on black patterned coils and pulled the snake away from his chest, looking into deep, emerald green eyes that stared at him unblinkingly.

_/It is nothing Harrison./_ He said, his own whispery voice barely passing above a hiss. The snake blinked. His thin, filmy eyelids shuttering sideways over the iris's. A huff of air left the vipers nostrils in a silent snort.

_/I highly doubt that hatchling. No one ever thinks of nothing. If it were worthless, you wouldn't bother to contemplate it./_ Snake crossed his arms, letting go of the large snake's coils and turning his head away from the serpent. He hated it when Harry did this, made him feel like he was five years old. Hissing in amusement, the Australian viper slid over his skin, squeezing his coils in a soothing manner.

_/Now now hatchling, you know I didn't mean it like that. I merely wish to know what you are thinking, no matter how worthless or frivolous it seems. I treasure your opinion./_ Reluctantly unfolding his arms, Snake relaxed again, stroking Harry's scales slowly. The serpent let out a quiet rumble of enjoyment and draped himself over the boy's shoulders, closing his eyes contentedly.

_/I was just thinking of the Circus. Everyone is so close. They're like family, willing to do anything for one another./_ Harry opened his eyes, looking up at his companion.

_/Oh?/_ Before he could respond, Joker rounded the corner, waving cheerfully at Snake.

"Yo Snake! Is Doc in the first aid tent?" He inquired. Snake didn't respond, watching the man accompanying the resident ringleader intently. Harry felt with his magic and lifted his tail, pointing in the man's general direction. Joker stared at the two, speechless at the display, before rubbing the back of his head embaressedly.

"Oops. He's on business huh?" Snake refrained from commenting, uncomfortable with the stranger in their midst. Luckily he was saved from answering by the twins Peter and Wendy, the flying blanco team. Both Snake and serpent watched as the two men argued with the two children, before following his directions and heading for the Doctor's tent.

That man was so abnormal. Dressed in colors as monochromatic as any other member of 'proper' society; and yet he didn't look the least bit washed out. His black suit was the deepest ebony, his gloves and shirt the white of new fallen snow, skin the perfect flush of rosy pink, with mahogany eyes that almost seemed cherry red from their intensity. Harry's scales rasped against each other as he lifted his head up to Snake's eye level, his gaze boring a hole in the strange man's back.

_/What is it?/_ Snake quietly hissed. _/Is he a threat?/_ He asked, ready to call his friends to deal with the man the minute his companion told him too.

_/No,/_ Harry replied. _/Not yet. I sense no directed malice from him./_ A forked tongue flickered out and tasted the air. _/But there is something wrong with that butler./_

As Joker led him away from the scaled man and his companion he couldn't help but glance curiously back at the two.

Mutants weren't that uncommon in humanity. Many ended up in hell because of their descent into lawlessness and rejection of faith. This was not the first time he had seen such an unusual human. Ciel was more interesting with his contrary nature and iron will. No, what intruiged him was the snake.

Black on black, the serpent's patteren could've been black and white for the stark contrast the two colors had to one another. One glittering with red highlights like fresh, dark blood while the other was the cold, shining green of the dark caves. Green like the striking emerald color of it's eyes. Sebastian shivered as he thought of those eyes. Impossibly old and wise, they shone with a frightening intelligence and razor sharp wit honed over centuries. They were the eyes of an immortal, a shinigami.

the eyes of a demon.

It unsettled him a little, how he had never heard of this creature before. He knew it wasn't a demon, and other than angels no other being could disguise itself as other animals. Moreover, whatever it was, it was strong. He had felt the pulse of lifeforce slide against his own concealment charms that hid him from supernatural creatures.

Yes, _there was something wrong with that serpent._

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End

This isn't everything I have hashed out right now, but the rest of the plotline is still in pieces. This is probably the only scene fully developed.

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The driving idea:

Much like my LotR crossover, Harry again has animagi troubles, only this time his form is a rare magical species of Australian viper that closely resembles the basilisk in form, but in reality has very few of its powers. About the only thing that sets it apart is its deadly venom, and it's immortality. Other than that it's just a regular snake. Now in this story, Ginny somehow through Harry's magic becomes immortal as well, only she doesn't adapt like he does and goes insane. His being in the Kuroshitsuji verse is again a bid to get away from wizards, only this time their led by Ginny, whom he has been running from for over 100 years. My idea is to incorporate Harry into the storyline trying to keep his human form and/or identity a secret, as Ginny will be able to detect any magic he does and hone in on his position.

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2nd Idea:

There's no exerpt from this one 'cause it's still in the developmental stages. The story is set after the end of Kuroshitsuji II. The basic idea though, is that the Harry we know is not James and Lily Potter's son. The real Harry died only 2 months after he was born. 'Harry' is actually Ciel Phantomhive the demon, who is trying to find a way to reinstate the contract. Or more importantly, reinstate the claimabililty of his soul. He and Sebastian have been together for nearly a century, and the earl can feel the resentment and misery in their link. Ciel doesn't want that. He wants the butler to behave the way he used too; to like him, maybe even love him. (As Ciel is in love with our favorite butler)But every time he looks into the demon's raging eyes he knows that the man will never feel the same way. So he wants to complete the contract. He _wants_ Sebastian to eat him. Only 50 years into his immortality, he orders Sebastian away and not to follow him, before he tries to find a way to break or nullify his demonic status. Through a series of events, he meets Dumbledore, who agrees to help him for a price. It takes many years, but shortly after the original Harry's death in 1980, Dumbledore finds a ritual and enchantment that does what they want. The ritual is ancient and far beyond dark, as it twists the very soul into a new personality, locking away all their dominant characteristics. This nullifies the contract, because Sebastian made a deal for Ciel's soul. And if Ciel's soul is no longer Ciel's soul, then the contract is essentially void. But because it _is_ the same soul, no matter how it's twisted, the contract is still in place (sort of). The enchantment is more of a seal, meant to lock and drain a wizards power until they are nothing more than a muggle. While this normally wouldn't work on demons, as they are born demonic (like Sebastian), since Ciel was created by the insertion of demonic power, if it is drained away, he would essentially be human, allowing Sebastian to take his soul.

Dumbledore performs the ritual and places him with the Potters before anyone learns of the death of the baby, only to be horrified when Professor Trelawny makes the prophecy. Because Harry died, Neville is the only one whom it could apply to, but since no one else knows this, there is a very real chance Voldemort will attack 'Harry'. This is why he places the Potters under the Fidelius. It does no good, as Voldemort chooses Harry anyway, and tries to kill him. The force of the attack cracks the seal and ritual on his demonic powers and rebounds the curse at Voldemort.

The story is told in a rather disjointed fashion. Flashbacks will be very common, as 'Harry', because of the cracked seal, slowly remembers his past life as Ciel Phantomhive. Each year he fights Voldemort only worsens the damage and sends a bigger flood of memories and powers back to him. This is one reason why he's so temperamental in book five, as he's trying to reconcile the two personalities inside him. It is at the final battle that, after receiving all his memories, and knowing the consequences of facing against Voldemort, that he returns to being Ciel Phantomhive. Not in appearance, but the ritual that warps his soul is no longer in effect, meaning the contract is now in full sway again. It is as this that Ciel approaches Voldemort, ready to die. The seal on his demonic abilities may be damaged, but as long as it's in tact it's done its job, meaning that if he can hold on long enough, he will die as a 'human', and Sebastian could eat his soul.

Sebastian, who has alligned himself with the Dark wizards (for one reaosn or another, I just need him there in the clearing) watches as Harry Potter walks into the forest clearing, only to be shocked by the fact that he recognizes his master, even if he is different in appearance. When Voldemort kills him...and here's where it diverges. I have 3 scenarios on how it goes down:

Sebastian is hurt by his masters 'death' and discovers his love for Ciel, uses the Contract to pull him out of limbo and essentially make him a demon again so that they live through eternity together

Ciel comes back on his own from limbo, and tears out his own eye to void the contract (as nothing else has worked), thereby freeing Sebastian. (Who then either decides to stay with Ciel and eventually falls in love, or leaves and never looks back)

Sebastian takes advantage of the situation and does, indeed swallow Ciel's soul and move on.

Personally I like this idea better as the chapters will be hard to write. But the problem is the chapters will be hard to write. (Quite a dilema)

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Fullmetal Alchemist/Kuroshitsuji:

"_**I WON'T FORGIVE YOU! SMILEEEEEEE!"**_ Doll screamed out in agony, pulling out a sharp asassins dagger and charging blindly in rage, hair blowing back and revealing her charred eye. Ciel just stared down at her dispassionately, no fear, no rage, not a single emotion in his eyes.

"Sebastian."

Such a simple word, but with the utterance of his name, the demon snapped forward. The girl was dead before her body hit the ground. Ciel just continued staring, still as emotionless as a frozen river. His gaze never wavered from the angry, tearful eyes of the girl that seemed to accuse him of all his foul deeds.

"Ciel," Turning in surprise, Sebastian rotates to face Edward standing in the crimson light from the flames of the burning house. "What have you done?" He asks. Ciel merely gazed upon his still, tense form.

"The children were in no condition to be saved. The strength they would have needed to overcome their despair was too great." He said emotionlessly, indicating Sebastian to put him down and facing the boy. Edward shook in rage.

"And so you kill them? Without trying to help, without considering that they had people waiting for them to come home?" Edward shouted, now looking up with his fierce golden eyes that crackled and snapped in the light of the fire to become likened to flames themselves.

"There was no one to help them. There was no other choice left but-" All of a sudden he found his cloak held in a choke hold by two hands-one warm flesh, the other cold steel- and the Alchemist's face inches from his own.

"THAT'S NOT YOUR DESCITION DAMN IT!" He screamed, hands shaking in his fury as Edward stared him down, trembling with the need to hit him, but unwilling to do so. "You bastard! What gives you the right to play god? To control people's lives like that! All those children...all those families...they'll never be together again!"

"And how is that my concern?" Ciel stated. The young man froze in shock and Ciel took advantage of it to extricate himself from the Alchemist's iron grip-no pun intended. "I'm not arrogant enough to irresponsibly save someone just to brag about it. Those children were beyond help. There was nothing we could've done to save them." Edward shook his head.

"No...No...I refuse to believe that." Ciel scoffed.

"Then tell me Edward, what could you have done to save them? What do you know, in your infinite knowledge and wisdom, that would bring their spirits back and give them the will to live again," Ciel inquired, driving his point home. Edward merely continued to look at his feet. "Your silence gives you away. Even you, with all your power, have nothing to revive the dead." The blond boy merely growled.

"There's always a way!"

"No! There isn't! Once something is truly lost it can never be returned! Cease these foolish notions that every soul can be saved! Your naivety will be the death of you!" Ciel trembled in his own rage. "You are weak! Tormented by your past, so determined to meet your goal, and yet not willing to sacrifice everything for it! You talk of restoring your brothers body, but when confronted with the one thing you need, you shy away simply because what makes it used to be human!" Ciel lifted his chin and crossed his arms, peering down his nose at the youth. "You must make a choice. Whether to grab the spiders thread and cast aside all regrets, or go on as you are and lose all hope of ever reaching your goal." He glared down at the elder boy who was only a few inches taller than him and feeling years older.

"...Maybe you're right." Edward whispered, hands unclenching from his sides. "Maybe it is foolish...but still..." His hands started trembling again. "But still." He looked back up. "I won't let that stop me!" Edward said, looking into Ciel's eyes, fiery gold and cobalt blue clashing in a battle of wills. "No matter what, I refuse to see world so bleakly! Maybe those children were past redemption, maybe Nina could...could never be fixed." He said, gulping and fighting back the tears that threatened to overwhelm him at admitting that. "But I refuse to belive that you can be past salvation! Everything can be returned! It is just a matter of price."

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End

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The driving idea:

This plot has been driving me insane for years now. Ever since I read the scene where Ciel ordered Sebastian to burn down the Baron's mansion with the children inside. After I finished reading the chapter, I immediately thought of what Ed would've done in this situation. The result was this scene. Both Ed and Ciel had very similar experiences in the fact that extremely truamatic things have happened to them. But their personalities reacted to the situation in two completely different ways. Ciel came to believe that once a wrong was commited, nothing could ever make it right; while Edward's desperate need to assuage his guilt and repent for his mistake as a child has given him the belief that any wrong, no matter how atrocious, can be made right. The burning of the Baron's house is the epitome of this difference in viewpoints. If I were to ever expand this into an actual story, I'd probably have Edward drop in on Ciel around the Viscount incident, with him being blackmailed into working as a bodyguard for Druitt, and being assimilated into the Phantomhive household as a debt, or an equivalent exchange in order to help him find a way back to his own world (As the transportation through Gluttony's false portal of truth spat him, Ling, and Envy out in a different reality, rather than their own)

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That's it for now. I just wanted to put these up to get some feedback on what sounds good and what doesn't. Read and Review please?


	12. An Idea

Harry Potter/FMA:

I've seen a lot of FMA reincarnation stories, where characters from the Fullmetal Verse are reincarnated in the Hogwarts students. But one thing always bugged me. In every single one, Harry was Roy Mustang. Now I actually don't mind this, it usually makes for a good plot and changes Harry's personality. But why is it ALWAYS Mustang? I get that they both have messy black hair, but reincarnation doesn't guarantee that you will look like your previous self. In fact it's more based on personality. And to that end, wouldn't Ed be more like Harry? And doesn't Draco's arrogance remind you more of Roy? That's when I came up with this: take every character stereotype, and turn them on their heads

Harry Potter: Edward Elric

Hermione Granger: Winry Rockbell

Neville Longbottom: Alphonse Elric

Ginny Weasley: Izumi Curtis

Draco Malfoy: Roy Mustang

Blaise Zabini: Maes Hughes

Cedric Diggory: Jean Havoc

Cho Chang: Riza Hawkeye

The premise to this story is much like that of "Never a Memory". When a soul is reincarnated they are wiped clean and given another chance at life. However, if the soul ever comes under extreme duress, they will access the knowledge and power stored up from previous lives to aid them. The problem is once these gates are open, it is very hard to close them. The soul will start remembering more and more, especially if they're put in extreme situations over and over. Harry is the one who starts to remember first. Because of the killing curse as a baby, he has always been influenced by Edwards thoughts. He likes the color red, stands and fights against his cousin and uncle rather than taking their beatings (and getting locked in the cupboard for his disobedience), and so on.

1st Year: When he comes to Hogwarts, his memories are put on hold, but in the fight against Voldemort, he gains a little more. He's much more outspoken and willing to be cheeky. He also finds himself both fascinated and repulsed by Transfiguration and Charms, though he doesn't know why. He enjoys Potions (to an extent) but having Snape there rather ruins it for him. This is also the first time he really talks to Neville and the two bond surprisingly well.

2nd Year: Because of the end of the school year, Hermione has gained a little bit of herself as well. She takes a greater interest in Muggle gears and Wizarding gadgets, going so far as to look up runes and their applications. The Basilisks petrification and poison force both Harry and Hermione to dig up more. They now start to dream about their previous lives and they gain some of their habits. (Harry starts waking up early and doing katas, and Hermione begins tinkering with whatever device she can find when she's bored) Even Neville remembers a little and almost calls Harry "Niisan". While Draco has not faced anything particularly life threatening yet, Harry and Hermione's change in behavior spark a response in him.

3rd Year: The Dementors dig up painful memories for everyone. But for Harry, Hermione, and Draco it reaches past their current lives and taps into previous memories. This constant exposure brings to light that the things that have been going on are real, and they are not dreams, but memories. This forceful pull actually brings out some physical changes. Harry's hair tames a bit and he gains golden flecks in his eyes. Neville, lost, clings to Harry and when he realizes whats happening, begins to call Harry "Niisan".

4th Year: This is when everything comes together. Harry and Hermione find out about Malfoy's past life and they both discover Cedric and Cho. They also unexpectedly find out about Ginny-who has slowly been reacquiring her memories since the Chamber of Secrets. Draco as Roy believes Harry when he says that he didn't put his name in the Goblet, but is unable to stop the older Slytherins from harassing him. When Ron finds out he is both jealous and ecstatic. It is considered a great honor to be reincarnated.

What does happen: Because Harry has more of Ed's inquisitive nature he doesn't just skim through his classes. While he isn't like Hermione, always raising his hand to be called on, neither does he slack off either. He's much more like Fred and George. If he doesn't do the work, it's because he isn't interested. While this doesn't change the story that much in the beginning, as the others start to remember it becomes a different story. They come to the conclusions faster (ie: Ed finds out about the Basilisk, He finds out Black didn't get a trial, etc…) Draco also becomes an actual friend who helps them out against Voldemort. Basically, the more people remember, the more the story divides from the canon.

I'm thinking of issuing this one out as a challenge.


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